How visual scripting empowers engineers to leverage parametric design's full potential

Thursday 9 July 2026

Visual scripting empowers engineers to leverage the full potential of parametric design by automating repetitive tasks, creating custom workflows, and managing complex geometries.

By treating the entire design as an integrated, iterable system, engineers can optimise processes and shift focus from manual calculations to high-value architectural and functional innovation. Parametric design offers a holistic approach, allowing users to visualize and manage structures in a realistic, as-built form from the outset.

Modelling through visual scripting

Visual scripting generates geometry through a graph-based interface where logical and geometrical relationships are defined by input data. This methodology ensures high efficiency and consistency, enabling BIM information and geometry to be managed from a single source of truth.

Modelling of both simple and complex geometries can be significantly faster than traditional modelling and its engineering accuracy is assured since the engineer can create and manage the design as a whole, rather than manually insert and manipulate individual parts. Because all the parts can be automatically generated and updated based on the parameter values, the engineer can effortlessly iterate through different design alternatives.

Value engineering is a simpler process since the engineer can easily test or discover solutions that they may otherwise not have had time to consider, allowing them to provide a better service to the client and the design team.

Scripts can also integrate with external data sources, such as CAD tools and Excel, to drive geometry and attribute parameters dynamically.

Visual scripting for Tekla software

Tekla provides advanced visual scripting for Tekla Structural Designer and Tekla Structures through a seamless integration with Grasshopper.

Grasshopper is the visual scripting engine for Rhino, a premier 3D modelling solution known for its scalability and precision. Developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, details on evaluation and trial options are available on their website.

Using Grasshopper with Tekla Structural Designer

The Grasshopper-Tekla Structural Designer live link enables algorithmic modelling, parametric design exploration, and data-driven design for Tekla Structural Designer using Rhino/Grasshopper.

This link consists of a suite of components that integrate into the Grasshopper interface to communicate with Tekla Structural Designer.

Prerequisites: You need to have Rhino (download) and Tekla Structural Designer (version 2022 or later) installed on the same machine.

Learn more and download from Tekla Warehouse.

More information in Tekla User Assistance.

Using Grasshopper with Tekla Structures

With the Grasshopper-Tekla live link, you can create and manipulate native Tekla objects in real-time from Grasshopper and query the Tekla model for information like attributes and object placements.

The integration provides a comprehensive set of Grasshopper components that interact directly with Tekla Structures. Users can import complex Rhino geometries into Tekla Structures as native items for further detailing.

Prerequisites: You need to have Rhino (download) and Tekla Structures installed on the same machine.

Learn more and download the link from Tekla Warehouse.

More information in Tekla User Assistance.

Check out the frequently asked questions on Grasshopper-Tekla link.

Watch webinar: Easy steps to more efficient bridge design workflow

Custom components created with visual scripting for Tekla Structures

The Grasshopper Component uses the Rhino. Inside technology in Tekla Structures lets users benefit from visual scripting tools without being exposed to the visual script itself.

The component shows up in the component catalogue in Tekla Structures as any other Tekla component and has a traditional component dialog. The component can, however, trigger any Grasshopper definition in the background to generate objects in Tekla, without all the end users needing knowledge about visual programming.

This introduces a versatile third method for creating custom component types, alongside the custom component editor and API programming.

By selecting a Grasshopper definition, the component dialog is automatically populated with parameters like distances, text, and catalogue pickers. Once the user selects the required inputs in the model, Grasshopper generates the corresponding objects in Tekla.

Prerequisites: In addition to the Grasshopper Component extension, you need to have the following installed on the same machine: