AER Office Expansion Embraces Flexibility and Openness

With corporate life continuing to shift away from rigid office routines, AER’s new offices in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico, respond to this evolution with a spatial language rooted in flexibility and comfort. The insurance and surety brokerage’s updated headquarters, designed by Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez Pérez, marks a clear departure from the conventional—trading hierarchy and assigned desks for openness, light, and informal interaction.

A Dialogue Between People and Space

Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez Pérez’s design is less about spectacle and more about spatial behavior. Completed in 2022, the 530-square-meter expansion project prioritizes atmosphere over decoration, shaping an environment that adapts to the work rhythms of its users. By eliminating most interior walls and partitions, the space becomes fluid and adaptable—more of a living system than a fixed layout.

What emerges is an office that doesn’t dictate how one should work. Instead, it invites movement. No assigned workstations mean team members are free to shift throughout the day, encouraged to collaborate in communal areas or retreat to quieter zones when needed. The layout fosters a subtle choreography—an ebb and flow between shared energy and solitary focus.

Designing Without Boundaries

Rather than relying on flashy materials or bold architectural gestures, the design leverages materiality to define space. Carpeted zones help establish a softer, more domestic ambiance, while wooden lattice panels subtly carve out zones without enclosing them. These elements aren’t merely aesthetic—they’re functional tools that mediate acoustics and define program without rigid divisions.

The use of muted tones and textural layering creates a calming, grounded experience. Meeting rooms and private booths, necessary for focused work and client interactions, are carefully embedded into the open plan, striking a balance between transparency and discretion. In this way, the design resists extremes, favoring a middle ground where interaction and concentration can coexist.

A Workplace That Breathes

This project reflects a broader trend in contemporary office design: the shift toward “non-territorial” environments where work is no longer tethered to a single desk or cubicle. AER’s offices emphasize the value of trust and autonomy in workplace culture. Rather than micromanaging behavior through spatial constraints, the architecture leaves room for users to define their own routines.

In this context, the space becomes a tool for cultural transformation. Informality is no longer a threat to productivity; it’s a condition that can actually support it. The office isn’t a stage for corporate posturing—it’s a field for interaction, spontaneous encounters, and quiet concentration alike.

Rethinking Function Through Flexibility

Functionality in this project doesn’t come from rigid programming but from adaptable infrastructures. The space performs not because it adheres to a strict set of rules, but because it allows for unpredictability. Teams gather around informal tables, conversations spill out into lounge areas, and private moments of focus happen in glass-wrapped booths.

AER’s new headquarters is not about showing off—it’s about letting people work, move, and relate in ways that feel natural. Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez Pérez’s intervention is careful, almost quiet in its execution, yet it speaks clearly about how workspaces can—and perhaps should—be reimagined.

Technical Sheet