The article is devoted to the task of searching for the design solution of the structural coating plate. Structural plates are widely used to cover single-storey structures and have a wide variety of structural and architectural forms. The choice of minimum weight design is based on the VAT control method. As the regulators adopted the location of the columns and the class of steel. Depending on the number and location of the columns on which the structural plate rests, the forces in the structural elements change and accordingly the cross-sectional area and mass of the structure change. Four variants of the arrangement of the columns and three versions of the class of steel were considered. For each design variant, the design was calculated numerically, the cross-section was selected, and the mass was determined. Based on the accepted criterion of the effectiveness of the design solution - metal consumption, the most effective design solution was adopted with the arrangement of columns along the perimeter of the coating in steps of one cell.

Keywords: space grid structures for roofs, regulation of stresses, optimization, metal consumption, criterion of optimality