This paper proposes a design for libraries of European Classical architectural elements based on shape grammars. This design is based on a workflow which develops library objects from 3D CAD primitives using architectural rules to construct parametric representations of architectural elements. In the case of Classical architecture, the design and detail for the parametric objects are based on manuscripts ranging from Vitruvius to Palladio to the architectural pattern books of the eighteenth century. The generation of 3D objects for virtual reconstruction necessitates the application of computer algorithms and rules introduced by the user to generate objects, buildings and spaces from a grammar and vocabulary of shapes. Both the use of graphicly constructed and coded parametric libraries in formal and open-source platforms will be considered here.