Methods and systems for partitioning objects in modeling environments are disclosed. The modeling environments enable users to partition an object (parent object) to include other objects (child objects). The parent object may reference the child objects (referenced objects). The child objects may be subsystems in the hierarchy of the parent object or modules (or units) in the partitioning of the parent object. The child objects may be encapsulated so that changes in the parent object do not affect the child objects. The partition of the parent object may allow users to load and compile the parent object incrementally. The partition of the parent object may also allow users to generate code for the parent object incrementally.