Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems unusual at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display similar art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Dangers to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing 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 serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its history.