diff --git a/third-party/cmake/blackdynamite.cmake b/third-party/cmake/blackdynamite.cmake
index 066d924df..868a3c6e6 100644
--- a/third-party/cmake/blackdynamite.cmake
+++ b/third-party/cmake/blackdynamite.cmake
@@ -1,36 +1,41 @@
 if(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${BLACKDYNAMITE_ARCHIVE})
   set(_blackdynamite_download_command
     URL ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${BLACKDYNAMITE_ARCHIVE})
 else()
   set(_blackdynamite_download_command
     SVN_REPOSITORY ${BLACKDYNAMITE_URL}
-    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1)
+    )
 endif()
 
-include(ExternalProject)
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
+  set(_extra_options 
+    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
+    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
+    EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+    )
+endif()
 
 ExternalProject_Add(blackdynamite
   PREFIX ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party
   ${_blackdynamite_download_command}
-  DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
-  EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+  ${_extra_options}
   CMAKE_ARGS <SOURCE_DIR>/
   CMAKE_CACHE_ARGS -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=<INSTALL_DIR> -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:STRING=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER:PATH=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}
   BUILD_COMMAND make
   INSTALL_COMMAND make install
   LOG_DOWNLOAD 1
   LOG_CONFIGURE 1
   LOG_BUILD 1
   LOG_INSTALL 1
   )
 
 
 
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(BLACKDYNAMITE_LIBRARIES blackdynamite)
 package_set_include_dir(BLACKDYNAMITE_INCLUDE_DIR "${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party/include/blackdynamite" CACHE PATH "")
 mark_as_advanced(
   BLACKDYNAMITE_LIBRARIES
   BLACKDYNAMITE_INCLUDE_DIR
   )
 
 package_add_extra_dependency(BlackDynamite blackdynamite)
diff --git a/third-party/cmake/iohelper.cmake b/third-party/cmake/iohelper.cmake
index 0c1831767..b70daa7ca 100644
--- a/third-party/cmake/iohelper.cmake
+++ b/third-party/cmake/iohelper.cmake
@@ -1,35 +1,40 @@
 if(NOT EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${IOHELPER_ARCHIVE})
   set(_iohelper_download_command
     GIT_REPOSITORY ${IOHELPER_GIT}
     GIT_TAG ${IOHELPER_VERSION}
-    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
     )
 else()
   set(_iohelper_download_command
     URL ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${IOHELPER_ARCHIVE}
-    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
     )
 endif()
 
-
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
+  set(_extra_options 
+    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
+    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
+    EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+    )
+endif()
 
 ExternalProject_Add(IOHelper
   PREFIX ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party
   ${_iohelper_download_command}
-  EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+  ${_extra_options}
   CMAKE_ARGS <SOURCE_DIR>/
   CMAKE_CACHE_ARGS -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=<INSTALL_DIR> -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:STRING=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER:PATH=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}
+  LOG_DOWNLOAD 1
   LOG_CONFIGURE 1
   LOG_BUILD 1
   LOG_INSTALL 1
   )
 
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(IOHELPER_LIBRARIES iohelper)
 set(IOHELPER_INCLUDE_DIR "${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party/include/iohelper" CACHE PATH "IOHelper include directory")
 
 mark_as_advanced(
   IOHELPER_LIBRARIES
   IOHELPER_INCLUDE_DIR
   )
 
 package_add_extra_dependency(IOHelper IOHelper)
diff --git a/third-party/cmake/mumps.cmake b/third-party/cmake/mumps.cmake
index 246db7f64..0ba142984 100644
--- a/third-party/cmake/mumps.cmake
+++ b/third-party/cmake/mumps.cmake
@@ -1,133 +1,142 @@
 #===============================================================================
 # @file   mumps.cmake
 #
 # @author Nicolas Richart <nicolas.richart@epfl.ch>
 #
 # @date creation: Mon Nov 21 2011
 # @date last modification: Mon Sep 15 2014
 #
 # @brief  compilation of the third-party MUMPS
 #
 # @section LICENSE
 #
 # Copyright (©) 2010-2012, 2014 EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
 # Laboratory (LSMS - Laboratoire de Simulation en Mécanique des Solides)
 #
 # Akantu is free  software: you can redistribute it and/or  modify it under the
 # terms  of the  GNU Lesser  General Public  License as  published by  the Free
 # Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
 # later version.
 #
 # Akantu 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  Lesser General  Public License  for more
 # details.
 #
 # You should  have received  a copy  of the GNU  Lesser General  Public License
 # along with Akantu. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 #===============================================================================
 
 enable_language(Fortran)
 
 set(MUMPS_VERSION ${AKANTU_USE_MUMPS_VERSION})
 set(MUMPS_ARCHIVE "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/MUMPS_${MUMPS_VERSION}.tar.gz")
 set(MUMPS_ARCHIVE_HASH_4.9.2  "MD5=d0b8f139a4acf29b76dbae69ade8ac54")
 set(MUMPS_ARCHIVE_HASH_4.10.0 "MD5=959e9981b606cd574f713b8422ef0d9f")
 set(MUMPS_ARCHIVE_HASH_5.0.0  "MD5=3c6aeab847e9d775ca160194a9db2b75")
 
 if(NOT EXISTS ${MUMPS_ARCHIVE})
   message(FATAL_ERROR "To be able to compile MUMPS please download it from "
     "http://mumps.enseeiht.fr/ or http://graal.ens-lyon.fr/MUMPS and place it "
     "in the directory: ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party and in cmake set the "
     "variable AKANTU_MUMPS_VERSION to the corresponding version "
     "\n"
     "Supported version for automated compilation in Akantu are 4.9.2, 4.10.0 "
     "and 5.0.0")
 endif()
 
 package_get_option_name(MPI _mpi_option)
 if(${_mpi_option})
   unset(MUMPS_PREFIX)
 else()
   set(MUMPS_PREFIX _seq)
 endif()
 
 package_get_option_name(Scotch _scotch_option)
 package_use_system(Scotch _scotch_use_system)
 if(NOT _scotch_use_system AND ${_scotch_option})
   list(APPEND MUMPS_DEPENDS Scotch)
 endif()
 
 package_get_option_name(ScaLAPACK _scalapack_option)
 package_use_system(ScaLAPACK _scalapack_use_system)
 if(NOT _scalapack_use_system AND ${_scalapack_option})
   list(APPEND MUMPS_DEPENDS ScaLAPACK)
 endif()
 
 include(AkantuMacros)
-include(ExternalProject)
 
 package_get_libraries(Scotch _scotch_libraries)
 string(REPLACE ";" " " MUMPS_SCOTCH_LIBRARIES
   "${_scotch_libraries};${SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ESMUMPS}")
 
 package_get_libraries(BLAS _blas_libraries)
 foreach(_blas_lib ${_blas_libraries})
   if("${_blas_lib}" MATCHES ".*\\.framework")
     get_filename_component(_blas_framework "${_blas_lib}" NAME_WE)
     set(MUMPS_BLAS_LIBRARIES "${MUMPS_BLAS_LIBRARIES} -framework ${_blas_framework}")
   else()
     set(MUMPS_BLAS_LIBRARIES "${MUMPS_BLAS_LIBRARIES} ${_blas_lib}")
   endif()
 endforeach()
 
 if("${MUMPS_TYPE}" STREQUAL "seq")
   set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(MUMPS_LIBRARY_MPI mpiseq${MUMPS_PREFIX})
   mark_as_advanced(MUMPS_LIBRARY_MPI)
 else()
   set(MUMPS_LIBRARY_MPI "")
 endif()
 
 configure_file(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/MUMPS_${MUMPS_VERSION}_make.inc.cmake
   ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party/MUMPSmake.inc)
 
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
+  set(_extra_options 
+    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
+    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
+    EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+    )
+endif()
+
+
 ExternalProject_Add(MUMPS
   DEPENDS ${MUMPS_DEPENDS}
   PREFIX ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party
   URL ${MUMPS_ARCHIVE}
   URL_HASH ${MUMPS_ARCHIVE_HASH_${MUMPS_VERSION}}
+  ${_extra_options}
   BUILD_IN_SOURCE 1
   PATCH_COMMAND patch -p2 < ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/MUMPS_${MUMPS_VERSION}.patch
   CONFIGURE_COMMAND cmake -E copy ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party/MUMPSmake.inc Makefile.inc
   BUILD_COMMAND ${CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM} d
   INSTALL_COMMAND prefix=<INSTALL_DIR> ${CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM} install
   LOG_DOWNLOAD 1
   LOG_CONFIGURE 1
   LOG_BUILD 1
   LOG_INSTALL 1
   )
 
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(MUMPS_LIBRARY_DMUMPS dmumps${MUMPS_PREFIX})
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(MUMPS_LIBRARY_COMMON mumps_common${MUMPS_PREFIX})
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(MUMPS_LIBRARY_PORD pord${MUMPS_PREFIX})
 
 mark_as_advanced(
   MUMPS_LIBRARY_COMMON
   MUMPS_LIBRARY_DMUMPS
   MUMPS_LIBRARY_PORD
   MUMPS_LIBRARY_MPI
   MUMPS_INCLUDE_DIR
   )
 
 set(MUMPS_LIBRARIES_ALL
   ${MPI_Fortran_LIBRARIES}
   ${MUMPS_LIBRARY_COMMON}
   ${MUMPS_LIBRARY_DMUMPS}
   ${MUMPS_LIBRARY_PORD}
   ${MUMPS_LIBRARY_MPI})
 
 set(MUMPS_INCLUDE_DIR ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party/include CACHE PATH "" FORCE)
 set(MUMPS_LIBRARIES ${MUMPS_LIBRARIES_ALL} CACHE INTERNAL "Libraries for MUMPS" FORCE)
 
 package_add_extra_dependency(Mumps MUMPS)
diff --git a/third-party/cmake/scalapack.cmake b/third-party/cmake/scalapack.cmake
index f71a5b3c9..0ad66a21f 100644
--- a/third-party/cmake/scalapack.cmake
+++ b/third-party/cmake/scalapack.cmake
@@ -1,62 +1,69 @@
 #===============================================================================
 # @file   scalapack.cmake
 #
 # @author Nicolas Richart <nicolas.richart@epfl.ch>
 #
 # @date creation: Mon Nov 21 2011
 # @date last modification: Mon Sep 15 2014
 #
 # @brief  package description for mumps support
 #
 # @section LICENSE
 #
 # Copyright (©) 2010-2012, 2014 EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
 # Laboratory (LSMS - Laboratoire de Simulation en Mécanique des Solides)
 #
 # Akantu is free  software: you can redistribute it and/or  modify it under the
 # terms  of the  GNU Lesser  General Public  License as  published by  the Free
 # Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
 # later version.
 #
 # Akantu 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  Lesser General  Public License  for more
 # details.
 #
 # You should  have received  a copy  of the GNU  Lesser General  Public License
 # along with Akantu. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 #===============================================================================
 
 enable_language(Fortran)
 
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
+  set(_extra_options 
+    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
+    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
+    EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+    )
+endif()
+
 set(SCALAPACK_DIR ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party)
 ExternalProject_Add(ScaLAPACK
   PREFIX   ${SCALAPACK_DIR}
   URL      ${SCALAPACK_ARCHIVE}
   URL_HASH ${SCALAPACK_ARCHIVE_HASH}
-  DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
-  EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+  ${_extra_options}
   PATCH_COMMAND patch -p1 < ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/scalapack_${SCALAPACK_VERSION}.patch
   CMAKE_COMMAND BLA_VENDOR=$ENV{BLA_VENDOR} MPICH_F90=${CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER} ${CMAKE_COMMAND}
   CMAKE_ARGS <SOURCE_DIR>/ScaLAPACK
   CMAKE_CACHE_ARGS -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=<INSTALL_DIR>
   -DMPIEXEC:PATH=${MPIEXEC}
   -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER:PATH=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER}
   -DMPI_C_COMPILER:PATH=${MPI_C_COMPILER}
   -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS:STRING=${CMAKE_C_FLAGS}
   -DCMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER:PATH=${CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER}
   -DCMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS:STRING=${CMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS}
   -DMPI_Fortran_COMPILER:PATH=${MPI_Fortran_COMPILER}
   -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS:BOOL=ON
   -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:STRING=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}
   BUILD_COMMAND BLA_VENDOR=$ENV{BLA_VENDOR} MPICH_F90=${CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER} ${CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM}
   LOG_DOWNLOAD 1
   LOG_CONFIGURE 1
   LOG_BUILD 1
   LOG_INSTALL 1
   )
 
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(SCALAPACK_LIBRARIES scalapack)
 set(SCALAPACK_INCLUDE_DIR ${SCALAPACK_DIR}/include CACHE PATH "" FORCE)
 mark_as_advanced(SCALAPACK_LIBRARIES SCALAPACK_INCLUDE_DIR)
diff --git a/third-party/cmake/scotch.cmake b/third-party/cmake/scotch.cmake
index 981ee099c..b2f869e0f 100644
--- a/third-party/cmake/scotch.cmake
+++ b/third-party/cmake/scotch.cmake
@@ -1,70 +1,77 @@
+if(TARGET Scotch)
+  return()
+endif()
+
 if(NOT EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${SCOTCH_ARCHIVE})
   set(_scotch_download_command
     URL ${SCOTCH_URL}
     URL_HASH ${SCOTCH_ARCHIVE_HASH}
     TLS_VERIFY FALSE)
 else()
   set(_scotch_download_command
     URL ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/${SCOTCH_ARCHIVE}
     URL_HASH ${SCOTCH_ARCHIVE_HASH})
 endif()
 
-if(TARGET Scotch)
-  return()
+if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
+  set(_extra_options 
+    UPDATE_DISCONNECTED 1
+    DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
+    EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+    )
 endif()
 
 find_package(BISON REQUIRED)
 find_package(FLEX REQUIRED)
 find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
 
 if (AKANTU_USE_OBSOLETE_GETTIMEOFDAY)
   set (SCOTCH_TIMMING_OPTION -DCOMMON_TIMING_OLD)
 endif()
 
 if(CMAKE_SIZEOF_VOID_P EQUAL 8)
   set(SCOTCH_ARCHITECTURE -DIDXSIZE64)
 else()
   set(SCOTCH_ARCHITECTURE)
 endif()
 
 set(SCOTCH_DIR ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/third-party)
 configure_file(
   ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/scotch_${SCOTCH_VERSION}_make.inc.cmake
   ${SCOTCH_DIR}/scotch_make.inc)
 
 include(ExternalProject)
 
 ExternalProject_Add(Scotch
   PREFIX ${SCOTCH_DIR}
   ${_scotch_download_command}
-  DOWNLOAD_NO_PROGRESS 1
-  EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
+  ${_extra_options}
   PATCH_COMMAND patch -p1 < ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/scotch_${SCOTCH_VERSION}.patch
   CONFIGURE_COMMAND cmake -E copy ${SCOTCH_DIR}/scotch_make.inc src/Makefile.inc
   BUILD_IN_SOURCE 1
   BUILD_COMMAND MPICH_CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} ${CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM} -C src
   INSTALL_COMMAND prefix=<INSTALL_DIR> ${CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM} -C src install
   LOG_DOWNLOAD 1
   LOG_CONFIGURE 1
   LOG_BUILD 1
   LOG_INSTALL 1
   )
 
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(SCOTCH_LIBRARY scotch)
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ERR     scotcherr)
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ERREXIT scotcherrexit)
 set_third_party_shared_libirary_name(SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ESMUMPS esmumps)
 
 set(SCOTCH_INCLUDE_DIR ${SCOTCH_DIR}/include CACHE PATH "" FORCE)
 
 mark_as_advanced(
   SCOTCH_LIBRARY
   SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ERR
   SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ERREXIT
   SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ESMUMPS
   SCOTCH_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
 set(SCOTCH_LIBRARIES_ALL ${SCOTCH_LIBRARY} ${SCOTCH_LIBRARY_ERR})
 set(SCOTCH_LIBRARIES ${SCOTCH_LIBRARIES_ALL} CACHE INTERNAL "Libraries for scotch" FORCE)
 
 package_add_extra_dependency(Scotch Scotch)