In the ground-structure-based topology optimization, beam elements are regarded to be rigidly connected to each other, and joints are assumed to have infinite stiffness. Thus the optimized topology of a structure is obtained according to the assumption of no joint effect, and the resulting structure should be manufactured in one piece if the joint effect is to be excluded as much as possible. The underlying problems are that 1) the performance of the structure might be seriously decreased if the members of the structure are connected through welding or bolting, not manufactured in one piece, and 2) the topology of the structure will be changed if the joint effect is taken into account. In the paper, the assemblage issue is considered on topology optimization, and a new formulation based on the joint stiffness-varied ground beam structure is developed. Joints of a beam structure are modeled by elastic spring elements whose stiffnesses are controlled by design variables during the optimization.