The Impruneta Birth Centre is located in Impruneta, just south of Florence. The town is world-renowned for its naturally occurring Galestro clay. The fertile ground has become culturally and industrially significant. Historic terracotta effigies of the Virgin Mary are worshipped and the extravagant harvest festival punctuates the change of the season. In an age of rapid technological development, it is easy to lose the sensitive relationship between the body, mind and space. The immersive nature of the clay surroundings could lead to a greater awareness of our tactile boundaries and the effect that contact with these surrounding surfaces has on our physical and emotional well-being. Knowing that the process of labour and birth can be altered by skin-to-skin contact with a loved one, how might architectural surfaces stimulate a positive hormonal response? Inspired by the colombino technique, a new building production method is created. Interlocking ergonomic forms provide the new architectural cell; the load-bearing cellular system channels hot water and radiates the heat to the birthing space; the variations in texture seduce the inhabitants to interact with the glazed surfaces.