Original article published in The Guardian, The Observer, by Rowan Moore
As Britain faced a heatwave, the Observer’s architecture critic found himself between Norway and the north pole, exploring icy Svalbard on an epic trip for artists and writers.
One of The Arctic Circle residency team on Svalbard last month. Photograph: Leslie Leong In a tragicomic photograph to be found on the internet, a hydrogen balloon lies sideways on the sea ice, somewhere north of Svalbard. Still inflated, it clings to its spherical dignity, while the ropes that connect it to…