Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, admiring its branch-like ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a time when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central 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 delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase comparable art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have 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 concept for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. 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 faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, 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 originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful 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 original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special 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 that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.