The defensive measures already in place borrow from the tactics of the street politics playing out in Kiev. A heap of plywood sits midway up the administrative building’s elegant central staircase; dozens of shrink-wrapped half-gallon bottles of water have been positioned one flight up, ready to be released on any advancing officers.

The protesters have also stashed bags of trash and heavy sacks of dry concrete powder at the tops of staircases, to hurl down if necessary, said Volodymyr M. Karpinsky, 26, a City Council member from Ternopil in western Ukraine, while leading a tour of the building’s fortifications.

Furniture has been pulled across doorways, creating a jumble intended to prevent riot police officers from coming through in a line with their plexiglass shields interlocked — the preferred tactic. Protesters have also unspooled the building’s fire hoses, preparing to spray the police.

The idea, Mr. Karpinsky said, is to ensure that any police action will indeed create chaos, with multiple and potentially serious injuries on all sides. Drawing maximum attention to any ham-handed dispersal effort is a central goal, he said, noting that it was just such a scene that galvanized the protest movement over the weekend.

“We don’t have weapons or anything illegal,” Mr. Karpinsky said. “We have furniture and water.”

He nodded toward a desk wedged in a doorway. “It will be difficult for them to get past the furniture,” he said. “I like the furniture.”