We present a methodology for modeling finite-element meshes defined on parametric surface patches. The idea is to build curves and generate meshes over the parametric patches built with these curves, which also connect adjacent meshes. The final model is a representation of all meshes combined into a single data structure. The basic tools to generate such meshes are the user interface to model space curves and the geometric algorithms to construct the elementary domain mappings. The main problem in composite modeling is how to handle mesh surfaces that intersect each other. We present an algorithm that models the intersection curves precisely and adjusts both meshes to the newly formed borders. The algorithm is part of an interactive shell modeling program, which has been used in the design of large offshore oil structures. We avoid unacceptable interaction delays by using a variant of the DCEL data structure that stores topological entities in spatial indexing trees instead of linked lists. These trees speed up the intersection computations required to determine points of the trimming curves, and also allows mesh reconstruction using only local queries.