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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition against a foreign power, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern 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 claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character 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 red door and original-style 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 resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately 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 a way off from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first protect its history.