By establishing a phenomenological frame, this research paper demonstrates that the feeling of alienation towards the modern built environment originates from the failure of this built environment to allow man to identify himself with his own human condition, abstract ideas and natural environment. The study focuses on materials as primary suspects of that failure. From the phenomenological point of view, modern and traditional materials are compared, and their physical properties are analysed in the way they allow the identification with the environment. The results show that modern materials, while allowing man to identify himself with his abstract ideas, do not allow him to do so with his natural environment and human condition. Through the analysis of contemporary architectural works, the study explains how modern materials can be transformed and articulated in a way that they can contribute to a meaningful experience of architecture. Finally, this research paper suggests a need for further study to be conducted. For that, the presented earlier methodological phenomenological frame can form the basis for the analysis of other architectural aspects, allowing a broader understanding of the problem of alienation towards the modern built environment.