Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display comparable art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze protected buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership unconcerned or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Destruction and Disregard

One egregious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Regrettably they are without 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 lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its walls.