Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered strange at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Campaign for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially 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 uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare 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 heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, 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 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 urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

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