Space grid structures are widely used for covering large-span public and industrial buildings and allow for a wide variety of structural and architectural forms. The article presents and solves the problem of finding a design solution for a space grid coating structure of minimum mass for a given steel class, element cross-section type, and loading conditions. The location of the supports is considered as a variable parameter, which leads to a different stress-strain state of the structure, and, accordingly, different cross-sections of the supporting elements.The change in the stress-strain state of the roof space structure when changing the location of the supports was studied. In total, 10 options for the arrangement of supports of a space structure with a size of 24x24 m and 7 options for a space structure with a size of 30x30 m were considered. After the load was applied, the VAT of the structure was determined numerically, the cross-section of the elements was selected and their mass was calculated. Then a comparison of the various options for supporting by the weight of the structure was made. In the article, the optimization problem was solved according to the optimality criterion of metal consumption, restrictions in the form of overall dimensions, topology and strength conditions.

Keywords: space grid structures, optimization, metal consumption, control parameter