materialsalongside

Materialsalongside is a neologism used in some design and materials science discussions to describe a holistic approach to material selection. Rather than evaluating a material in isolation, materialsalongside emphasizes considering how materials perform, interact, and age together within a given assembly, product, or system. The concept also foregrounds social, environmental, and economic contexts that influence material choices.

Origins and scope are informal, with the term appearing in design discourse as a response to siloed material evaluation. Proponents argue that real-world performance emerges from the relationships among materials, manufacturing processes, end-of-life pathways, and user interaction. The framework thus integrates lifecycle thinking, material compatibility, and system-level thinking.

Core principles include cross-material compatibility, lifecycle perspective, and contextual relevance. Practitioners may use methods such as material matrices, pairwise compatibility tests, and digital twins to simulate how different materials behave together under service conditions. Collaborative workflows across disciplines—materials science, engineering, product design, and sustainability—are encouraged to apply this approach.

Applications span architecture, consumer product design, packaging, automotive, and textiles. Examples are illustrative rather than standardized: a furniture designer might select a wood species in conjunction with fasteners and finishes to optimize durability and repairability; a packaging project could pair biobased polymers with paper substrates to balance barrier properties and recyclability.

Reception and challenges include recognition of its value for sustainable and resilient design, balanced by the added complexity and time required for system-wide evaluation. The term remains informal and is not yet codified in standard design methodologies.

See also: materials science, life cycle assessment, design for disassembly, material compatibility.