Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance towards an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered strange at a period when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for Beauty

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been attempting to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive 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 prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Dangers to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish protected buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“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 mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, 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 levelled old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last 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 creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Regrettably 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 not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she admitted. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first save its history.