Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself 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 elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance towards a foreign power, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered strange at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, 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 large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while serving 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 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct 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 not a thing 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 appreciate the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.