There are generally no codes, standards or regulations that set the boundary conditions for structural design in Space, for example.

So the designer first of all has to decide on loads and safety philosophies based on the different design criteria like ease of construction or transportation of the structure.

For each purpose and environment different solutions will necessarily evolve based on the changing importance of the many design criteria.

Also there is typically not one optimum design but a variety of possibilities which adress the different criteria with distinct approaches.