We present a general and simple procedure to construct quasi-interpolants in hierarchical spaces. Such spaces are composed of a hierarchy of nested spaces and provide a flexible framework for local refinement. The proposed hierarchical quasi-interpolants are described in terms of the so-called truncated hierarchical basis. Assuming a quasi-interpolant is selected for each space associated with a particular level in the hierarchy, the hierarchical quasi-interpolants are obtained without any additional manipulation. The main properties (like polynomial reproduction) of the quasi-interpolants selected at each level are locally preserved in the hierarchical construction. We show how to construct hierarchical local projectors, and the local approximation order of the underling hierarchical space is also investigated. The presentation is detailed for the truncated hierarchical B-spline basis, and we discuss its extension to a more general framework.
