🔗 Share this article Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of War. Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties. It was also an act of opposition towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.” “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.” Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Among the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers. “They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp. Several Threats to Legacy But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden. “Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued. Demolition and Abandonment One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a unfriendly security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions. Continuing the Work One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, 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 constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said. “It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.” The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Regrettably 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 not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added. Hope in Restoration Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.” In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its walls.
Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties. It was also an act of opposition towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.” “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.” Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Among the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers. “They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp. Several Threats to Legacy But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden. “Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued. Demolition and Abandonment One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a unfriendly security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions. Continuing the Work One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, 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 constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said. “It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.” The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Regrettably 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 not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added. Hope in Restoration Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.” In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its walls.