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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase similar art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped 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 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? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first protect its history.