Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition towards an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Fight for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Dangers to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing 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 destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators razed it to the ground. 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 not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly 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 some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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