mantle placeHow to get site context into Rhino and Grasshopper
Real terrain and context for Rhino — a finished mesh for direct modeling, raw layers for parametric Grasshopper work.
Rhino gives you two good ways to work with a real site: import a finished terrain mesh and model against it, or feed the raw layers into Grasshopper and build the terrain parametrically. A Mantle Place bundle supports both from one download. For direct modeling, import the OBJ or glTF terrain — imagery draped — and it lands at real-world scale. For parametric work, the same bundle carries the ingredients Grasshopper wants: a heightmap PNG to drive a surface, DXF contours to loft or patch, and GeoJSON vectors for the roads and footprints that populate a definition. The manual alternative is assembling those layers from separate portals and reconciling their projections before anything reaches the canvas.
how to do it
Draw the area
Define the extent the study needs — for parametric site work, err generous, since Grasshopper makes cropping easy later.
Download once, use twice
One bundle serves both workflows: the meshed terrain for direct Rhino modeling, and the heightmap, contours, and vectors for Grasshopper.
Import the mesh into Rhino
Import the OBJ or glTF terrain into Rhino; it arrives at real-world scale with the aerial imagery as its texture.
Drive Grasshopper from the raw layers
Reference the DXF contours as curves, sample the heightmap PNG to drive a surface, and bring the vector layers in for streets and footprints.
Model and iterate
Cut, project, and rebuild against the terrain, or wire it into the definition so every design option sits on the real ground.
frequently asked
Should I use the mesh or rebuild the terrain in Grasshopper?
Use the mesh when the terrain is context to model against; rebuild from the heightmap or contours when the definition needs to resample, deform, or analyze the surface parametrically.
What layers does the bundle give Grasshopper to work with?
A heightmap PNG for surface generation, DXF contour curves, GeoJSON vectors for roads and building footprints, and the DEM GeoTIFF when you want the source raster itself.
Will the terrain be at real-world scale in Rhino?
Yes. The bundle is georeferenced and unit-consistent, so the mesh and the contours arrive at true dimensions — set your model units to meters and the site measures correctly.
Get the data for your site.
Draw your area, see the price, and download an owned bundle — terrain, imagery, and basemap ready for Unreal Engine, Blender, and your CAD tools.