Architecture: It's a serious lifestyle — but one that can still make room for some fun and laughs, too. The last 12 months have brought on an entertaining mix of design-themed films, whimsical projects, pop culture crossovers, and even some clever hacks. Have another look at these fun, shareable reads in Archinect's round-up of top culture news for 2017.

A self-taught designer builds a secret work studio on the underside of a bridge

Fernando Abellanas, a self-taught designer from Valencia, made headlines when he built a pop-up studio into the underside of a traffic bridge. “Observing passing cars and trains with no one seeing me gives me great sense of peace,” Abellanas said.

Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal to star in a new movie about Mies van der Rohe and Edith Farnsworth

The scandalous (and not so accurate) story of Mies van der Rohe and Edith Farnsworth's relationship got the Hollywood treatment in a feature film starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Indian bar legally evades closure by adding 250-meter long maze entrance

A cheeky architectural interpretation of law. The Aishwarya Bar in North Paravoor, India literally made their way around the Supreme Court's 500-meter-distance liquor vendor rule (which was later scrapped) by building a 250-meter-long maze, thus expanding the distance it takes to get to the bar's entrance.

D'oh! The Simpsons house reimagined in 8 different architectural styles

The iconic cartoon home of The Simpsons gets drawn in eight different architectural styles that would surely stick out in the Simpsons' hometown of Springfield. 

You can now buy the iconic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman at CostCo

Retail giant Costco was selling the iconic Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (for just $3,899.99). It's apparently out of stock on Costco's website now, so that says something.

Dragon-proofing: why skyscrapers in Hong Kong have holes

Many of Hong Kong's skyscrapers are purposely built with holes called dragon gates. According to feng shui principles, the dragon gates allow dragons to fly from the mountains to the water every day. Blocking their path could bring misfortune.

BIG designs a new "smart lock"

BIG teamed up with Friday Labs to design a smart door lock, which connects to your smart phone and allows you to give access to your home remotely, say for a (trustworthy) friend or if you think your kids will forget to lock the door. Here's to hoping that hackers don't interfere.

Dream houses drawn by kids and rendered by professionals

With their uninhibited curiosity, children can truly offer a lot to architectural design. In one fun experiment, UK-based furniture start-up MADE asked a group of kids to draw what they think homes might look like in the future. A 3-D illustrator then brought the kids' ideas to life, and as you can imagine, the results are a treat to look at.

This video shows you how to hand-letter like an architect

Brush up on your lettering skills, or share this with a friend. Achieve the angular, all-caps look with this straightforward video, which breaks down how to create all 26 letters of the alphabet.

Architecture and the female form: Erotic collages by artist @scientwehst (NSFW)

Brooklyn-based artist Giulia, who goes by @scientwehst on Instagram, creates photo collages wherein she strategically places architectural elements onto images of the female body. 

Bro, Do You Even Quoin? A conversation with McMansion Hell's Kate Wagner

This Archinect Sessions episode features Kate Wagner, the author of McMansion Hell, a blog that balances serious essays about architecture and urbanism with hilarious analyses of the absurd trends in American suburban architecture. Earlier this year, Wagner and her blog got plenty of attention following a widely publicized threat from Zillow to stop using their imagery.

Minimalism: another boring product wealthy people can buy

Enough said. Love it or hate it, this piece by Chelsea Fagan takes a good hard look at trendy minimalism. “The point is, the points being made by the minimalism crew are neither truly spiritual nor truly socioeconomic,” Fagan writes.

Want to live in Thom Mayne's iconic Sixth Street House?

After relocating to Cheviot Hills earlier this year, Thom Mayne put his Sixth Street House up for lease, for $7,600/month. The iconic house in Santa Monica had a prominent role in Michael Mann's 1995 crime movie, “Heat”. It also won the 1987 AIA Los Angeles Honor Award.

This private island with two Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes is on the market for $14.9 million

Located on the heart-shaped Petre Island in New York's Lake Mahopac, the FLW-designed Massaro House appears to still be up for grabs for $14.9 million. Surrounded by controversy and rumors for years, the home has quite the backstory.

Check out more of Archinect's 2017 in Review lists here.