At the present rime, the complexity of analyzing a three-dimensional stress state and the wide variety of design solutions, boundary Conditions, and types of loading prohibit the development of a general method for eompu~ng the stability of spatial designs employed in various branches of engineering. To solve specific problems of the design of individual groups of spatial structures, methodsreflecting the speci~c characteristics of their static operation have been developed in the various engineering branches. The stress state of hydraulic structures can be determined by examining a multieoupled mass (a mass with recesses) placed on an elastic foundation, which can be represented by any working model.A method for solving the stated problem, which takes into account the specific characteristics of the set of structures under consideration and which we shall refer to hereinafter as the method of fragments, is set forth below. Design SchemeThe spatial design of a hydraulic structure (a muldcoupled mass) can be represented by a system of the simplest elastically coupled elements: a plate and block inserts. The combination of these elements, which corresponds to a specific design, serves as the working scheme of the proposed method. Let us designate the simplest elements in its makeup as fragments of the design scheme. The design and design scheme by the method of fragments for the building housing a pumping station on the Dnepr-Donbass Canal are cited as an example in Figs. I and 2.