Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a neighboring state, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered strange at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another difficulty.

“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 destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they are without 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 civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first protect its walls.