American architect Peter Marino's New York flagship store for Hublot has become the Swiss watch brand's tallest boutique in the world (+ slideshow).

The slender structure is situated on a dense site on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, where luxury retailers abound.

Marino designed both the building and the interiors, setting out to create an aesthetic that took cues from the high-end timepieces sold in the store.

The facade consists of hundreds of powder-coated black aluminium panels, positioned at various angles. On select panels, the outward-facing edges are lined with LED strips.

"The sculptural movement inherent in the facade is an abstract notion of time and the perpetual mechanism of the watch," said Marino, who runs an eponymous studio in New York.

The facade rises over 70 feet (21 metres), making it the brand's tallest store in the world. The boutique is also Hublot's largest outpost in the US.

Inside the 1,500-square-foot (139-square-metre) building, the architect used a variety of materials to create a luxurious and modern aesthetic.

Black lava stone and wood floors are paired with granite-coloured leather furnishings and display cases made of glass and polished stainless steel.

The architect employed a grey and black colour palette throughout the retail space.

The rear wall of the store features a contemporary painting by artist Albrecht Schnider called Ohne Titel. The piece "reflects the precision of the Hublot watch-making and the abstract dynamism of the brand", the team said.

Other special elements include "shadow-less" LCD vitrine windows and a "virtual book" in the storefront window that depicts Hublot's history. The luxury watchmaker was founded in 1980 in Switzerland.

The project marks the latest in a long collaboration between Marino and Hublot, which began when the architect designed the company's Place Vendôme flagship store in Paris in 2010. He has since designed four additional boutiques for Hublot.

Marino has created stores for a number of other luxury brands, including a Louis Vuitton shop in London and this Dior boutique in Seoul created in collaboration with architect Christian de Portzamparc.

Other recent boutiques completed in New York include a Valentino flagship store by David Chipperfield that features a grey terrazzo interior, and a Versace showroom by SO-IL that contains movable displays and columns sheathed in mirrors.

Photography is by Adrian Wilson.