delta-sierra.com
David Salvan: books, essays and projects
Construction, practical autonomy, hiking, travel, nature and heritage: explore the films by subject and open each page for the context that helps understand the place, technique or experience shown.
The project, technical choices, mistakes, corrections and practical lessons come first.
Projet LA RESSOURCEProjet LA RESSOURCE
This opening video sets out the project’s purpose: documenting a real build, its choices, mistakes, costs and changes rather than presenting a perfect,…
Projet LA RESSOURCEProjet LA RESSOURCE
A themed campsite devoted to practical autonomy is not simply a row of pitches. It must show how water is collected, stored and saved, how energy is…
Projet LA RESSOURCEProjet LA RESSOURCE
An aerial view reveals what is difficult to perceive from the ground: continuous slopes, breaks in level, drainage lines, possible access routes and…
Projet LA RESSOURCEProjet LA RESSOURCE
An aerial view makes the organisation of the building site legible: footprint, earthworks, storage, access, distance from boundaries and changes to the…
Projet LA RESSOURCEProjet LA RESSOURCE
A three-year timelapse reveals major phases but compresses waiting, rework and periods without footage. It provides an exceptional view of the site’s…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
The first timber elements establish the axes and give the project real scale. Their position controls everything that follows, making diagonals, levels and…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
A concrete pour concentrates several irreversible operations: formwork preparation, reinforcement position, levels, openings and placement rate. A simple…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
Raising successive frames shows the repetitive logic of an A-frame house: each triangle defines a section, but temporary stability remains fragile until…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
The final triangular frame is a symbolic milestone, but it does not mean the structure is finished. Alignment, plumb, bracing and connections must still turn…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
Bracing prevents the triangular structure deforming under wind and uneven loads. It turns a succession of frames into an assembly capable of transferring…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
The final quarter of a bracing system is often slower than the first: edges, junctions, cuts and already congested areas require greater precision.
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
This sequence continues structural work that is not spectacular but is essential. Panels and fixings must form a continuous chain rather than a collection of…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
A completed roof marks the building becoming weather-tight, a major stage that finally protects the interior and sensitive materials. It does not remove the…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
A staircase combines geometry, comfort and safety. Riser height, going, headroom, width and guarding must be coherent; a small repeated error is immediately…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
Installing a terrace is not simply a matter of aligning boards. The support must drain water, avoid moisture traps and maintain sufficient ventilation.
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
Continuing the terrace shows the reality of a long build: level adjustments, adaptation to installed components and management of small accumulated…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
Cladding protects the wall while allowing water to drain and air to circulate behind the finish. Board choice, orientation, battens and detailing around…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
A terrace progresses through successive details: structure, slope, drainage, ventilation, guardrails and the junction with the house. Each stage must…
Autoconstruction de la maison en AAutoconstruction de la maison en A
OSB 3 is designed for humid conditions, but not for permanent exposure without protection. Beneath a building, edges, fixings and rising moisture are…
Autonomie et autoconstructionAutonomie et autoconstruction
The beginning of construction is when drawings meet real ground. Access, storage, setting out, safety and weather suddenly matter as much as dimensions on…
Autonomie et autoconstructionAutonomie et autoconstruction
Combining a water tank and structural columns requires simultaneous thought about storage, structure and future access. A full tank represents a considerable…
Autonomie et autoconstructionAutonomie et autoconstruction
A water-tank roof protects the water and creates technical access. It must carry its own weight, temporary loads and moisture without contaminating the…
Bilan et retour d’expérienceBilan et retour d’expérience
Looking for a weak point after several seasons is more useful than claiming a self-build is perfect. Water, wind, expansion, fixings and daily use reveal…
Bilan et retour d’expérienceBilan et retour d’expérience
A list of mistakes becomes genuinely useful when it explains the decisions that produced them: lack of experience, work sequence, underestimated time,…
Bilan et retour d’expérienceBilan et retour d’expérience
This April 2025 report records a precise state of the project, with visible volumes, completed work and tasks still to be done. It forms a useful archive for…
Équipements et matériauxÉquipements et matériaux
Straw can provide effective bio-based insulation, but quality depends on density, moisture, storage and protection from rain before installation even begins.
Équipements et matériauxÉquipements et matériaux
Buying windows manufactured far from the site can reduce cost but increases the importance of dimensions, transport, compliance and after-sales support.
Équipements et matériauxÉquipements et matériaux
A three-year review evaluates a product beyond its sales sheet. Motor, slats, guides, noise, sealing and spare parts reveal the real cost of a budget roller…
Les vidéos de voyage, de randonnée, de kayak, de snorkeling et de découverte patrimoniale viennent ensuite.
Sélection — mes plus belles vidéosSélection — mes plus belles vidéos
The Estérel is recognisable by its red volcanic rocks, broken ridges and contrast with the Mediterranean blue. The circuit around Cap Roux crosses a dry…
Sélection — mes plus belles vidéosSélection — mes plus belles vidéos
Daluis Gorges are unlike any other canyon in the Alpes-Maritimes. Where regional limestone clues are often grey or white, the Var cuts here through red…
Sélection — mes plus belles vidéosSélection — mes plus belles vidéos
Baou de Saint-Jeannet rises abruptly above the coastal plain. Chemin Jeannot is not a conventional hike: it combines exposed movement, sections where hands…
Aventures au fil de l’eau et à véloAventures au fil de l’eau et à vélo
From the water, the Tarn Gorges read differently: cliffs tower over the canoe, villages appear around bends and springs or beaches become practical…
Aventures au fil de l’eau et à véloAventures au fil de l’eau et à vélo
A first kayak outing in the Ardèche Gorges turns abstract advice into immediate sensation: reading the current, keeping the boat aligned, avoiding tension…
Aventures au fil de l’eau et à véloAventures au fil de l’eau et à vélo
The Camargue is a living delta built by the Rhône and reshaped by embankments, brackish lagoons and human activity. On a bicycle the land seems almost flat,…
Aventures au fil de l’eau et à véloAventures au fil de l’eau et à vélo
The Verdon owes its colour and visual power to a river confined between high limestone cliffs. In a kayak the scale of the canyon changes completely: the…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval is a vast limestone amphitheatre crossed by numerous waterfalls. The route toward Vogealle gradually leaves the valley floor for…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Sentier des Roches crosses a steep Vosges slope with cut passages, handrails, steps and exposure. Its equipped character should not be confused with a…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
La Soufrière is an active volcano whose wet, frequently cloud-covered summit contrasts with the beaches commonly associated with Guadeloupe. The trail passes…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Mont Malinvern leads into a high mountain border landscape where snow can persist for a long time. Crampons and an ice axe change the way a person walks:…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Carlit dominates a landscape of high-altitude lakes and Pyrenean plateaus. The approach is gradual, but the final section becomes steeper and more rocky,…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The long descent of the Ardèche Gorges reveals what a short highlights reel often removes: alternating rapids and calm reaches, narrowing cliffs, pebble…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Baousse del Biel draws attention because of its isolated, almost sculpted shape. Reaching it means crossing Mediterranean terrain where low vegetation can…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Calanques massif combines limestone cliffs, dry valleys, caves and deeply cut coves. The pale rock intensifies light and heat; in summer, wildfire risk…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Marboré and the Pineta balcony belong to a high-mountain world where administrative borders matter less than relief. The route connects cirques, walls,…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Pont d’Espagne is a major gateway to the Pyrenees National Park. Torrents, waterfalls, forest and historic paths lead toward Lac de Gaube beneath the…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Cirque de Gavarnie is a monumental glacial amphitheatre within the transboundary Pyrenean landscape. The great waterfall drops from the high walls, but…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Buèges is a clear small river fed by a karst system. Its banks, mills, bridges and vegetation create a more intimate landscape than the larger nearby…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The name “1,000 Steps” describes a physical experience as much as an exact count. Repeated stairs and steep gradients load the body differently from a…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Larzac Canalettes form a maze of limestone, fissures, narrow corridors and blocks shaped by water. The landscape can feel like a small stone city hidden…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The heights above the Tarn Gorges offer the opposite perspective to a canoe: the eye takes in bends, ledges and villages, while exposure becomes more…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Voie Rouge crosses a limestone slope typical of the Nice hinterland. Its name does not imply uniform terrain: slabs, steps, loose rock and steeper…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Cap d’Antibes coastal path follows a rocky shore where private villas and gardens meet a highly exposed public maritime domain. The route alternates…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Héric Gorges cut into the Caroux massif, whose rocks and relief give the landscape a more mountainous than Mediterranean character. Ravin des Charbonniers…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
Morgiou and Sugiton show two faces of the Calanques: an old fishing harbour that remains inhabited and a cove dominated by steep cliffs. Paths descend and…
Randonnées et montagneRandonnées et montagne
The Vallée des Merveilles combines high mountain terrain, lakes, glacially polished rock and thousands of rock engravings. Often attributed mainly to the…
Snorkeling et littoralSnorkeling et littoral
Anse Dufour and Anse Noire are neighbouring coves with very different appearances: pale sand on one side and dark volcanic sand on the other. Coastal fish…
Snorkeling et littoralSnorkeling et littoral
The Medes Islands, off L’Estartit, are an emblematic marine protection site in Catalonia. Restrictions and managed activities have supported high fish…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
Île aux Chats belongs to Rodrigues’ island landscape of lagoon, islets, reefs and channels. Its interest is not limited to the beach: the boat approach helps…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
Pointe Coton combines beach, reef, wind and lagoon on the eastern coast of Rodrigues. Snorkeling reveals shallow-water life, but visibility and current vary…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
Saint Gabriel Cathedral lies in the interior of Rodrigues, far from a purely beach-based image of the island. The route connects cultivated landscapes,…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
Île aux Sables and Île aux Cocos are known for seabird colonies and their place in Rodrigues’ natural heritage. Access is controlled to limit disturbance…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
A general day of exploration gives a more honest picture of an island than a sequence of postcards. Roads, villages, relief, markets, coasts and travel time…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
François Leguat Reserve contributes to ecological restoration in Rodrigues by reintroducing large tortoises into a landscape where related species had…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
The nickname “aquarium” reflects the water clarity and visual abundance of parts of the Rodrigues lagoon. It is not an artificial space: coral, fish,…
Île RodriguesÎle Rodrigues
Trou d’Argent is a small enclosed cove reached on foot, and its apparent isolation forms part of its appeal. The route crosses a coast exposed to wind and…
Patrimoine et découvertePatrimoine et découverte
Old Nice is a dense fabric of narrow streets, squares, coloured façades, Baroque churches and markets. Its form responds to heat, limited space and an urban…
Patrimoine et découvertePatrimoine et découverte
Saint-Léons is a village of the Lévézou whose streets, houses and church introduce the rural history of the Tarn and neighbouring Aveyron. It is also…
Patrimoine et découvertePatrimoine et découverte
The Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat path circles a peninsula associated with luxury, yet its main interest is the direct relationship between rock, sea, vegetation and…
Patrimoine et découvertePatrimoine et découverte
Entrevaux occupies a natural gateway in the Var valley. Its bridge, gates, narrow streets and citadel make the logic of defence immediately visible: control…
