Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, admiring its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance against a foreign power, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been attempting to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display analogous art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision 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 community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly 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 asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.