Photo: Patrick McMullan

What's a famed architect of big-money glass-box condos supposed to do when the real estate goes bust? Play tennis, of course. When we ran into a tan, relaxed Richard Meier at the 16th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit last weekend in the Hamptons, Meier, who once dreamed of going pro, admitted the economy had inadvertently forced him to work on his game. "It hasn't affected my buildings; it's affected my practice," he said. Meaning? "Well, we don't have so much work." Meier is taking the entire summer off, and he's giving his employees time for other pursuits. "We went on a four-day week and we're closing the office for two weeks in August," he said. "Hopefully September we'll have something to do."