Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to conserve 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 constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. 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 erected for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she admitted. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first save its history.