Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, moving away to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a time when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been attempting to save the city’s decaying 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 originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display comparable art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Neglect

One notorious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, 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 destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped 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 authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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 citizens not cherish the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.