What if the concrete of the buildings in which we live, work or shelter our animals influenced our well-being? For the sellers of “Pneumatit”, an adjuvant sold at €180 per liter from Switzerland and developed following the precepts of anthroposophy, there is no doubt about this. According to this company, conventional concrete “cuts man off from the forces of the natural environment, to the point of causing discomfort, reduced vitality, nervousness, headaches, joint pain” (sic). Conversely, by adding Pneumatit to traditional concrete, the material is inflated with “vital forces”.
If the precepts of Rudolf Steiner were already known in teaching, viticulture or even organic agriculture, the presence of anthroposophy in the world of construction is more recent. It raises questions when we learn that in Brittany, farmers, advised by geobiologists, some of them well established in public authorities, paid to “energize” the concrete of their agricultural sheds, by adding a liquid whose nothing proves its effectiveness… and whose price per liter is close to that of a luxury perfume or a vintage grand cru.
Jay bones, New Testament and Johann Sebastian Bach
On the Pneumatit site, the product manufacturing process is freely accessible. It appears to be at the very least… original, even totally crazy, and above all seems completely devoid of scientific foundation. The product is obtained after crushing and grinding various ingredients such as a right femur of an oak jay (the bird), shells of nautilus pompilus (a sea snail), but also butterfly wings, plants and minerals. By adding water and ethanol, the condensate obtained becomes the basis of the preparation, which promises to give the concrete a “dynamic molecular structure”. The mixture is, moreover, necessarily prepared by simultaneously reading the passage from the New Testament dedicated to the Wedding at Cana, with Johann Sebastian Bach. Finally, “rhythmic modulations of temperature” are obtained, “using candles and ice, between 45 and 2 degrees Celsius for three consecutive nights”. Once the potion has been made, the condensate is diluted in hectoliters of water (1 ml per 10,000 liters!) to obtain the final product. It is the latter which is sold for €180 per liter, and which is intended to be mixed with conventional concrete or cement on construction sites.
90% of completed projects are agricultural
Despite its false appearance of a magic potion, Pneumatit has received, in recent years, a favorable response from individuals and professionals looking for more environmentally friendly constructions. Mainly in Switzerland, many in Alsace, but also in Brittany, where certain architects or construction materials companies promote the virtues of Pneumatit concrete.
In our region, around fifty buildings have been built following these precepts. In Bruz, near Rennes, a hotel of a large national chain designed its thirty-room extension with “revived concrete”. Some private pavilions have also opted for the anthroposophic adjuvant. But 90% of completed projects concern agriculture: livestock extensions, milking parlors, etc.
Promoted by geobiologists
The miraculous adjuvant has also been used to cast bases for telephone antennas or wind turbines, despite the fact that no human being works or lives continuously, much less an animal. In the far west, parks were “pneumatized”, such as in Bourbriac (22), where 116 m3 of concrete were poured to seal a wind turbine. On these sites, geobiologists, whose activity remains unclear and is not officially recognized, act as advisors, on sites sometimes financed by the State. Contacted, the geobiologist who worked on a farm, and who depends on an association, specifies that she “recommends this product” but does not market it. She declines to make any further comments.
No scientific proof
Didier Gognat, Pneumatit representative for France, responds to the attacks targeting the brand. He points in particular to a video published on the internet, the broadcast of which has been suspended for several weeks, according to him “full of false assertions”. “Being misunderstood and attacked in this way is regrettable, painful and difficult to respond,” he believes. Concerning the people we were able to interview, Didier Gognat declares that this is the “first time we have heard of dissatisfied customers”. He highlights “medical tests” based on “heart rate variability”.
Concerning the use of Pneumatit to seal wind turbines, this sales manager mentions the “favorable effects” observed, “of pneumatized concrete on electromagnetic interference phenomena”. Without providing any scientific proof of his assertions.
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