Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like 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 several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a foreign power, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. 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. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.