Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards a neighboring state, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of living in our country. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a period when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving 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 erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze protected buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One glaring location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions 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 nothing 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 value the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its stones.