Culturally historic buildings carry stories, traditions, and cultural expressions that are crucial to preserve for future generations.  The restoration of these buildings requires solutions that are carefully adapted to maintain the original architecture and historical value, often through the use of traditional craftmanship methods. However, knowledge of traditional craftmanship has declined, and it can be time-consuming, costly, and complex. At the same time, digitization is becoming increasingly prominent.

The aim of the study is to investigate how CNC milling, a digital method based on computerization and automation, can be used to recreate details from culturally historic buildings during restoration. The purpose is to examine how the method can replace or complement traditional craftmanship without compromising the preservation of the architecture, with regard to time consumption, cost, visual expression, and authenticity.

The study was conducted as a qualitative case study based on literature review and semi structured interviews. The interviews were held with professional building conservators, craftsmen, and CNC specialists to gather both theoretical and practical perspectives.

The results show that the attitude toward CNC milling varies depending on professional role. Regarding time consumption, the milling process itself is fast, but the preparatory work is time-consuming. From a cost perspective, CNC milling is most efficient for larger volumes, and traditional craftmanship is often cheaper for single-piece production. In  terms of visual expression, CNC-milled details tend to be perceived as too perfect, lacking the liveliness, variation, and character found in handcrafted objects, despite the possibility of post-processing.

The discussion highlights that the impact on authenticity is the greatest concern, as mechanical methods risk distorting the buildings historical “readability”. The study concludes that CNC milling is approached with great caution from a preservation perspective, but can be seen as a logical option from a production standpoint in cases of repetitive manufacturing or limited resources.