Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance towards an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first protect its stones.