Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance towards an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Threats to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a unfriendly 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 inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street 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 fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this history and splendour.”

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