# Generating Gridshell

**URL:** <https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/generating-gridshell/201159>\
**Category:** Grasshopper\
**Tags:** windows\
**Created:** [March 11, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/generating-gridshell/201159 "2025-03-11T19:11:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Matas.Janulionis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/matas.janulionis/32/645072_2.png) [@Matas.Janulionis](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/Matas.Janulionis)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/generating-gridshell/201159/1 "2025-03-11T19:11:40Z")

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Hello everyone!

I’m looking for some help generating a gridshell from a mesh surface. To give you an idea of what I’m aiming for, here’s my inspiration – I’d like to wrap it around an existing massing:

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/3/9/3/393a15bbcecf8b8f954574a50862df8bcaed9b30.jpeg)

Here’s the mesh I have, which came from a Kangaroo simulation:

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/3/3/4/334d0550e08161b2f9192c1283ea4fe6907c3ef3.jpeg)

And this is the kind of gridshell I’d like to create, but I haven’t figured out how:

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/7/7/f/77f3ba6629260438bfc4af438ac7a18a4f06ccfc.jpeg)

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/2/b/1/2b19143d3867858721d24ebca9c1ac8f6cbc5e2f.png)

I’m using the “Stripper” plugin to sort the mesh faces into horizontal and vertical strips, which might be helpful:

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/8/c/b/8cba799f558b7688713690ce8e298d8fcb5ec037.jpeg)

Any guidance or suggestions on how to generate this gridshell would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Gridshell Question.gh](https://discourse.mcneel.com/uploads/short-url/quETYAzgjaw8wHpE2yeIPbAhwPr.gh) (23.3 KB)

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**Author:** ![scottd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/scottd/32/494002_2.png) [@scottd](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/scottd)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/generating-gridshell/201159/2 "2025-03-11T21:40:20Z")

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Would Paneling tools help? Paneling tools gives a logical index across the faces also.

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/7/0/3/703741c82deb66a86f7cd95d65ca58425bd485d2.jpeg "Use THIS Technique to Master CUSTOM Panelization in Grasshopper") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd6bCPUmlWU)

[https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/panelingtools-rhino-and-grasshopper](https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/panelingtools-rhino-and-grasshopper)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Matas.Janulionis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/matas.janulionis/32/645072_2.png) [@Matas.Janulionis](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/Matas.Janulionis)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/generating-gridshell/201159/3 "2025-03-12T14:36:15Z")

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Hello Scott, thank you for your suggestion. Generating the pattern I’m looking for would definitely be more straightforward on a surface-based massing. I’ve even found tutorials that demonstrate that approach successfully:

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/uploads/default/original/4X/7/1/4/7143939a87802e0a6a2b962ccc689d91abbaaa82.jpeg "Rhino Grasshopper Pattern") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuvWn3xRuEg)

Unfortunately, my massing can’t be a surface because it’s a mesh derived from a SubD multipipe. Since a surface is fundamentally 2D geometry defined by a U and V grid, paneling works better on surfaces, but that option isn’t available to me.

I wonder if there’s a way to apply a similar approach to a sorted mesh. Do you have any thoughts on this?