Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, admiring its branch-like features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been attempting to preserve 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 erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents 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 leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Loss and Abandonment

One glaring demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves 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 vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and splendour.”

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