Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance against an invading force, she explained: “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of living in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear strange at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical 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 outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions 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 persevering in his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. 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 red door and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they are without 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 that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first cherish its walls.