Quick-start guide for Rhino.Ecologic®

Version: 0.1.19 beta
Compatible with: Rhino 8+, Grasshopper
Platform: Windows
Release date (beta version): 25.07.2026
Author Quick-Start Guide: Verena Vogler

Rhino.Ecologic® is an advanced ecological simulation framework for Rhino and Grasshopper, designed to seamlessly integrate ecological and environmental knowledge into the architectural and design process. It enables users to model and ecologically analyze architectural projects. Outputs include location- and time-specific 3D species distribution maps, as well as biomass and biodiversity simulations. This document provides quick-start guidelines for the Rhino.Ecologic simulation framework.br>

Step 1: Launch Rhino & Grasshopper

💡 Tip: Make sure your Rhino document units are set to meters before running any analysis. Rhino.Ecologic relies on metric units (e.g., voxel size, soil depth) for correct results, so an incorrect unit setting will produce inaccurate simulations.br>

1. Open Rhino 8.
2. Go to File > Open in Rhino.
3. Open one of the sample .3dm and gh files. You can find the example files under Rhino.Ecologic in the menu on the right-hand side: open the Rhino.Ecologic dropdown menu, which contains Tutorial, Examples, Snippets, and a link to the full documentation.
4. Start Grasshopper by typing _Grasshopper in the Rhino command line.
5. Ensure the Rhino.Ecologic tab is visible in the Grasshopper ribbon.

Loaded Rhino.Ecologic® toolbar in Grasshopper.

The Rhino.Ecologic toolbar includes the following tabs:

• 00_Parameters
• 01_Project
• 02_Analysis
• 03_Data
• 04_Visualisations
• 05_Utilities
• 06_Statistics
• 07_Species Library

💡 Tip: For more information on the Rhino.Ecologic® user interface, see the User Guide, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

Step 2: Load an example file

1. Go to File > Open in Grasshopper.
2. Open one of the example files, the Tiny Houses .3dm file and the Quick-start .gh file, under Rhino.Ecologic in the menu, via the Rhino.Ecologic dropdown menu under Examples.

Step 3: Set up your Rhino.Ecologic project

1. Set up your Rhino.Ecologic Project(P) by referencing your project in the Create Project Grasshopper component.
2. Set the project parameters such as the project’s Title(T), the project’s geographic Location(L) including Longitude(Lon) and Latitude(Lat), and define the Voxel Size(VS).
3. Reference your Rhino geometry (e.g., building or terrain 3D model) by right-clicking the Geometry Parameter component and selecting Set one geometry or Set multiple geometries. You can also input your Grasshopper model.
4. To run the environmental and ecological analysis on the entire project, leave the Biophilic Areas(BA) input empty.

5. To analyze only specific regions of your project, reference a bounding box (or multiple boxes) around those areas to the Biophilic Areas input.

Step 4: Run the ecological analysis

1. To run the ecological analysis, use the default settings for Parameters and Custom Library in the Run Ecological Analysis component.
2. To start the environmental and ecological analysis pipeline, set the Run boolean toggle from False (analysis inactive) to True (analysis active).
3. The Run Ecological Analysis component outputs data associated with geometry, environmental, and ecological parameters, including Inclination, Soil Depth, Soil Volume, Soil Type, Solar, and Biodiversity analysis results.
4. Review the Log output to ensure the analyses finished successfully.

5. To run a customized analysis, parameterize the pipeline using the Biodiversity Parameters (e.g., simulation duration in timesteps/years), Soil Depth Parameters (soil depth behavior and vertical constraints), and Solar Parameters (e.g., Analysis Type, Analysis Span, Day of Year, and Noon Hour) components. You can also supply a Custom Library as a Plant Library to define project-specific species and traits. Rhino.Ecologic includes predefined ecosystem-based example libraries.

Customized environmental and ecological analysis using modified Biodiversity Parameters.

Customized environmental and ecological analysis using modified Soil Depth Parameters.

Customized environmental and ecological analysis using modified Solar Parameters.

Step 5: Data outputs

1. Components in the Data tab return environmental and ecological data at the predefined resolution (Voxel Size). The resulting data can be used for further processing and visualization in Grasshopper.
2. Use the analyzed project output from the Run Ecological Analysis component as the input for the Deconstruct Voxel component. Retrieve the data outputs for the different categories: geometry (Id, Mesh, Position, Size, Inclination), environmental (Solar, Soil Depth, Soil Volume, Soil Type, Precipitation), and ecological (Timestamp, Species, Biomass, Abundance/Biodiversity, Plant Volume).
3. Access the analysis data outputs for your project using the Get Voxels by Type component. Select Exterior Envelope to obtain the results for your project’s outer envelope.

4. Adjusting the Time Step (years) input in the Deconstruct Voxel component returns ecological results for each year of the simulation.

Step 6: Visualize & export

1. Use standard Grasshopper components such as Domains from the Math tab, Gradient from the Params tab, and Custom Preview from the Display tab to visualize the data outputs in Rhino.
2. Use the provided components to visualise the Solar analysis results on your project in Rhino.

3. Use the provided components to visualise the Soil Depth analysis results on your project in Rhino.

4. Use the provided components to visualise the Precipitation analysis results on your project in Rhino.

5. Use the provided components to visualise the Biodiversity analysis results on your project in Rhino.

For instance, Plant Volume simulation results for a Species Library of trees, shrubs, and herbs. Unlike Biomass (accumulated biological dry mass), Plant Volume quantifies the geometric volume occupied by vegetation in each voxel.

6. Connect your analysed project and set the Time Step (in years) to retrieve the data. This lets you simulate plant growth over time and visualise herbs, shrubs, and trees as true 3D voxel representations.

The Get Plant Voxels component enables time-based plant growth simulations for your Project.

7. Save your Rhino.Ecologic project using the Save Project Grasshopper component in the Project tab.

8. For more details on customizing your analysis setup and information on ecological analysis, see the Rhino.Ecologic User Guide.
   
   

Help and feedback

If you encounter any issues or have questions, feel free to reach out. Please share your feedback, bug reports, or feature requests using this short form:

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Referencing

When referring to Rhino.Ecologic® in a scientific publication, please cite as follows:

Vogler, V., Kourkopoulos, E., Fraguada, L., Mimet, A., & Joschinski, J. (2025). Integrating ecological modeling into the 3D CAD system Rhinoceros. JoDLA – Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, Issue 10–2025, 86–100. Berlin/Offenbach: Wichmann Verlag im VDE VERLAG. e-ISSN 2511-624X. https://doi.org/10.14627/537754009

Vogler, V., Kourkopoulos, E., Joschinski, J., & Eckelt, K. (2025). Developing volumetric data models for ML training datasets using Grasshopper. JoDLA – Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, Issue 10–2025, 101–113. Berlin/Offenbach: Wichmann Verlag im VDE VERLAG. e-ISSN 2511-624X. https://doi.org/10.14627/537754010

Eleftherios, Jens, and Verena.

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