Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear unusual at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down protected buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body unconcerned or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. 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 killed. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a surly 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 stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. 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 continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts 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 go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first cherish its walls.