diff --git a/makeMesa b/makeMesa
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f48ecb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makeMesa
@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# =========                 |
+# \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
+#  \\    /   O peration     |
+#   \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2016 OpenCFD Ltd.
+#    \\/     M anipulation  |
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# License
+#     This file is part of OpenFOAM.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+#     under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+#     the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+#     (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+#     ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+#     FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+#     for more details.
+#
+#     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#     along with OpenFOAM.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+# Script
+#     makeMesa
+#
+# Description
+#     Build script for Mesa
+#
+# Note
+#     Building with mesa-12.0.1 failed to install an "osmesa.h" file,
+#     which renders it useless for off-screen VTK.
+#
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+mesaPACKAGE=mesa-11.2.2
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# run from third-party directory only
+cd ${0%/*} || exit 1
+wmakeCheckPwd "$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR" || {
+    echo "Error: Current directory is not \$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR"
+    echo "    The environment variables are inconsistent with the installation."
+    echo "    Check the OpenFOAM entries in your dot-files and source them."
+    exit 1
+}
+. etc/tools/ThirdPartyFunctions
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Script=${0##*/}
+
+usage() {
+    exec 1>&2
+    while [ "$#" -ge 1 ]; do echo "$1"; shift; done
+    cat<<USAGE
+
+usage: $Script [OPTION] [mesa-VERSION]
+options:
+  -gcc              force gcc/g++ instead of the values from \$WM_CC, \$WM_CXX
+  -help
+
+* build Mesa with
+      ${mesaPACKAGE:-'unspecified MESA version'}
+
+USAGE
+    exit 1
+}
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# ensure configure gets the correct C/C++ compiler
+[ -n "$WM_CC" ]  && export CC="$WM_CC"
+[ -n "$WM_CXX" ] && export CXX="$WM_CXX"
+
+# Non-standard location for clang?
+unset thirdPartyClang
+if [ "$WM_COMPILER_TYPE" = ThirdParty -a "$WM_COMPILER" = Clang ]
+then
+    thirdPartyClang=true
+fi
+
+# parse options
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]
+do
+    case "$1" in
+    -h | -help)
+        usage
+        ;;
+    -gcc)
+        export CC=gcc    # use gcc/g++
+        export CXX=g++
+        unset thirdPartyClang
+        ;;
+    mesa-*)
+        mesaPACKAGE="${1%%/}"
+        ;;
+    *)
+        die "unknown option/argument: '$1'"
+        ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+[ -n "$mesaPACKAGE" ] || die "The mesa-VERSION was not specified"
+
+# nothing to build
+if _foamIsNone "$mesaPACKAGE"
+then
+    echo "Using mesa-none (skip ThirdParty build of MESA)"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if _foamIsSystem "$mesaPACKAGE"
+then
+    echo "Using mesa-system (skip ThirdParty build of MESA)"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# locate third-party clang as required
+if [ "$thirdPartyClang" = true ]
+then
+    thirdPartyClang=$(command -v clang) || {
+        echo "Error: could not properly locate clang"
+        exit 2
+    }
+
+    # root installation directory
+    thirdPartyClang=${thirdPartyClang%/bin/clang}
+
+    [ -d "$thirdPartyClang" ] || {
+        echo "Error: could not properly locate clang"
+        exit 2
+    }
+fi
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#
+# Build MESA
+# For 64-bit
+# - MESA itself will normally build into 'lib64'.
+#
+#   MESA_SOURCE_DIR : location of the original sources
+
+MESA_ARCH_PATH=$installBASE/$mesaPACKAGE
+MESA_SOURCE_DIR=$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR/$mesaPACKAGE
+
+(
+    # configuration options:
+    unset configOpt
+
+    if [ -d "$thirdPartyClang" ]
+    then
+        configOpt="$configOpt --with-llvm-prefix=$thirdPartyClang"
+    fi
+
+    # end of configuration options
+    # ----------------------------
+    buildDIR=$buildBASE/$mesaPACKAGE
+
+    cd $MESA_SOURCE_DIR || exit 1
+
+    # remove any existing build
+    rm -rf $MESA_ARCH_PATH
+    rm -rf $buildDIR
+    mkdir -p $buildDIR
+    cd $buildDIR
+
+    echo "----"
+    echo "Building $mesaPACKAGE"
+    echo "    Source         : $MESA_SOURCE_DIR"
+    echo "    Target         : $MESA_ARCH_PATH"
+    if [ -d "$thirdPartyClang" ]
+    then
+        echo "    Clang          : $thirdPartyClang"
+    fi
+    echo "----"
+
+    # possibly for older mesa versions (see paraview wiki)
+    # CXXFLAGS="-O2 -DDEFAULT_SOFTWARE_DEPTH_BITS=31" \
+    # CFLAGS="-O2 -DDEFAULT_SOFTWARE_DEPTH_BITS=31" \
+
+    ## autoreconf -fi
+    set -x
+    $MESA_SOURCE_DIR/configure \
+        --prefix=$MESA_ARCH_PATH \
+        --disable-xvmc \
+        --disable-glx \
+        --disable-dri \
+        --disable-egl \
+        --enable-texture-float \
+        --enable-gallium-osmesa --with-gallium-drivers=swrast \
+        $configOpt \
+        && make -j $WM_NCOMPPROCS \
+        && make install \
+        && echo "Built $mesaPACKAGE"
+) || {
+    echo "Error building: MESA"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------- end-of-file
diff --git a/makeVTK b/makeVTK
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..27eac17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makeVTK
@@ -0,0 +1,303 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# =========                 |
+# \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
+#  \\    /   O peration     |
+#   \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2016 OpenCFD Ltd.
+#    \\/     M anipulation  |
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# License
+#     This file is part of OpenFOAM.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+#     under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+#     the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+#     (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#     OpenFOAM is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+#     ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+#     FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+#     for more details.
+#
+#     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#     along with OpenFOAM.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+# Script
+#     makeVTK
+#
+# Description
+#     Make and install VTK
+#     - place the VTK source under $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR/VTK-VERSION
+#
+#     To use the VTK source from the ParaView source tree, simply make an
+#     appropriate link first. For example,
+#
+#        ln -s ParaView-5.1.0/VTK  VTK-7.1.0
+#
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# run from third-party directory only
+cd ${0%/*} || exit 1
+wmakeCheckPwd "$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR" || {
+    echo "Error: Current directory is not \$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR"
+    echo "    The environment variables are inconsistent with the installation."
+    echo "    Check the OpenFOAM entries in your dot-files and source them."
+    exit 1
+}
+. etc/tools/ThirdPartyFunctions
+. etc/tools/ParaViewFunctions
+. etc/tools/vtkFunctions
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#
+# USER OPTIONS:
+# ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+# MESA graphics support:
+withMESA=false
+MESA_INCLUDE="/usr/include/GL"
+MESA_LIBRARY="/usr/lib$WM_COMPILER_LIB_ARCH/libOSMesa.so"
+
+# Set the path to cmake
+CMAKE_PATH=""
+
+# New rendering backend (starting with vtk 7?).
+# Default to auto-config based on VTK version
+withGL2=auto
+
+
+#
+# NO FURTHER EDITING BELOW THIS LINE
+#
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Script=${0##*/}
+
+usage() {
+    exec 1>&2
+    while [ "$#" -ge 1 ]; do echo "$1"; shift; done
+    cat<<USAGE
+
+usage: $Script [OPTION] [vtk-VERSION] [CMAKE-OPTION]
+options:
+  -rebuild          for repeated builds (-make -install) *use with caution*
+  -gl2              with new rendering backend (if not already enabled)
+  -mesa             with mesa (if not already enabled)
+  -osmesa           with off-screen mesa only
+  -cmake PATH       with the cmake version corresponding to the cmake path given
+  -gcc              force g++ instead of the value from \$WM_CXX
+  -verbose          verbose output in Makefiles
+  -version VER      specify an alternative version (current value: $VTK_VERSION)
+  -buildType NAME   specify the build type (default: Release)
+  -mesa-prefix DIR  location of mesa installation
+  -mesa-include DIR location of mesa headers (current value: ${MESA_INCLUDE:-none})
+  -mesa-lib PATH    path to mesa library     (current value: ${MESA_LIBRARY:-none})
+  -help
+
+The -no-FEATURE option can be disable these features (if not already disabled):
+  mesa
+
+CMake options start with a capital letter and contain an '='.
+For example,
+    $Script BUILD_TESTING=ON
+to add tests and avoid building documentation
+
+For finer control, the build stages can be selected or deselected individually:
+  -config    -no-config
+  -make      -no-make
+  -install   -no-install
+
+
+* Make and install VTK-$VTK_VERSION located under
+      \$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR/VTK-$VTK_VERSION
+  ->  \$WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR/platforms/$WM_ARCH$WM_COMPILER/VTK-$VTK_VERSION
+
+USAGE
+    exit 1
+}
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# ensure CMake gets the correct C/C++ compiler
+[ -n "$WM_CC" ]  && export CC="$WM_CC"
+[ -n "$WM_CXX" ] && export CXX="$WM_CXX"
+
+#
+# various building stages
+#
+unset runPATCH runCONFIG runMAKE runINSTALL
+runDEFAULT=true
+buildType=Release
+withOSMESA=false
+
+# parse options
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]
+do
+    case "$1" in
+    -h | -help)
+        usage
+        ;;
+    [0-9]* | vtk-[0-9]* | VTK-[0-9]*) # VTK version
+        setVtkVersion "${1%%/}"
+        ;;
+    [A-Z]*=*)            # cmake variables
+        addCMakeVariable "$1"
+        ;;
+    -gcc)
+        export CC=gcc    # use gcc/g++
+        export CXX=g++
+        ;;
+    -config)             # stage 1: config only
+        runCONFIG=true
+        unset runDEFAULT
+        ;;
+    -no-config)
+        runCONFIG=false
+        ;;
+    -make)               # stage 2: make only
+        runMAKE=true
+        unset runDEFAULT
+        ;;
+    -no-make)
+        runMAKE=false
+        ;;
+    -install)            # stage 3: install only
+        runINSTALL=true
+        unset runDEFAULT
+        ;;
+    -no-install)
+        runINSTALL=false
+        ;;
+    -rebuild)            # shortcut for rebuilding
+        runMAKE=true
+        runINSTALL=true
+        unset runDEFAULT
+        ;;
+    -gl2)
+        withGL2=true
+        ;;
+    -no-gl2)
+        withGL2=false
+        ;;
+    -mesa)
+        withMESA=true
+        ;;
+    -osmesa)
+        withMESA=true
+        withOSMESA=true
+        ;;
+    -no-mesa)
+        withMESA=false
+        withOSMESA=false
+        ;;
+    -mesa-prefix)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        withMESA=true
+        MESA_INCLUDE="${2%%/}/include"
+        MESA_LIBRARY="${2%%/}/lib$WM_COMPILER_LIB_ARCH/libOSMesa.so"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    -mesa-include)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        MESA_INCLUDE="${2%%/}"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    -mesa-lib)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        MESA_LIBRARY="${2%%/}"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    -cmake)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        CMAKE_PATH="${2%%/}"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    -verbose)
+        withVERBOSE=true
+        ;;
+    -version)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        setVtkVersion "${2%%/}"
+        VTK_VERSION="${2%%/}"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    -buildType)
+        [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die "'$1' option requires an argument"
+        buildType="$2"
+        shift
+        ;;
+    *)
+        die "unknown option/argument: '$1'"
+        ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+[ -n "$VTK_VERSION" ] || die "The vtk-VERSION was not specified"
+
+# Version-specific adjustments
+if [ "$withGL2" = auto ]
+then
+    if [ "${VTK_VERSION%%.*}" -lt 7 ]
+    then
+        withGL2=false
+    else
+        withGL2=true
+    fi
+fi
+
+
+if [ "$runDEFAULT" = true ]
+then
+    : ${runPATCH:=true}
+    : ${runCONFIG:=true}
+    : ${runMAKE:=true}
+    : ${runINSTALL:=true}
+fi
+
+
+# Set configure options
+#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+addVerbosity        # verbose makefiles
+addMesaSupport      # set MESA-specific options
+addGL2Support       # new rendering backend
+
+# set off-screen only options
+if [ "$withOSMESA" = true ]
+then
+    addCMakeVariable "VTK_USE_X:BOOL=OFF"
+    addCMakeVariable "OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR=$MESA_INCLUDE"
+    addCMakeVariable "OPENGL_xmesa_INCLUDE_DIR=$MESA_INCLUDE"
+    addCMakeVariable "OPENGL_gl_LIBRARY=$MESA_LIBRARY"
+    addCMakeVariable "OPENGL_glu_LIBRARY=$MESA_LIBRARY"
+fi
+
+setVtkDirs          # where things are or should be put
+
+
+# Build and install
+# ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+cat<<SUMMARY
+
+Build stages selected
+---------------------
+    -patch    ${runPATCH:-false}
+    -config   ${runCONFIG:-false}
+    -make     ${runMAKE:-false}
+    -install  ${runINSTALL:-false}
+---------------------
+Features selected
+    mesa      ${withMESA:-false}
+---------------------
+Version information
+    version   ${VTK_VERSION:-unknown}
+    build     ${buildType:-Release}
+---------------------
+SUMMARY
+
+[ "$runPATCH"   = true ] && patchVTK
+[ "$runCONFIG"  = true ] && configVTK
+[ "$runMAKE"    = true ] && makeVTK
+[ "$runINSTALL" = true ] && installVTK
+
+echo
+echo Done
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/makeVTK.example b/makeVTK.example
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b4cdcda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makeVTK.example
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# An example for building a particular combinations of VTK with off-screen mesa
+
+vtk=vtk-7.1.0
+mesa=mesa-11.2.2
+
+./makeVTK \
+    $vtk \
+    -osmesa -mesa-prefix $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR/platforms/linux64Gcc/$mesa
+
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------