Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a foreign power, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. Conversely, 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 optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered strange at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working 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 built in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone 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 goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Neglect

One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored 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 demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original 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 nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom 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 “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first cherish its stones.