Phenomenology was first defined by philosopher Husserl who ‘sought to apply scientific study to the acquisition of conscious experiences’ (Abiboo, 2012) and as an expansion on this, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit announced ‘that absolute and spiritual truth could be achieved by studying personal experience.’ (Abiboo, 2012) With this in mind, it seemed appropriate that, in order to gain a deeper understanding of this subject, and the role of materiality within it, my primary research should be based upon the analysis of my own experiences within architectural environments of contrasting materiality.