Seguros Monterrey

The Seguros Monterrey building is a masterpiece of late-Functionalist architecture. Today it’s recognized as a part of the Cultural Heritage of the Miguel Hidalgo alcaldía. The building has passed through a number of owners and occupants since Seguros Monterrey was acquired by New York Life in 1999. They’ve co-branded with the original Mexican company such that this building will often be confused with the parent’s building at Paseo de la Reforma and Florencia in the Zona Rosa.

The building was designed by the acclaimed architect Enrique de la Mora y Palomar and built between 1962 and 1963. Here, he collaborated with Alberto González del Pozo and Leonardo Zeevaert. In 1969, the same company contracted de la Mora for the tower to the immediate south. That annex is still occupied by New York life / Seguros Monterrey.

Zeevaert provided structural calculations to support the six floors hanging above the main building. They’re suspended by steel trusses and tensors. Up top, there’s an observation deck and a now rarely used event hall. That’s the most distinctive part that can be seen from the street level, albeit at a distance. The project helped to cement Polanco’s place on the cutting edge of Mexico City design and architecture. It remains in continual conversation, even today, with the 1970 Liverpool building, one block to the north, and the 1968 Barragán/Legorreta-designed Camino Real Polanco México, one block to the south.

The sculpture “Omegaly” was placed on the building esplanade in 1992. By sculptor Sebastián (of Caballito fame), it’s nearly 12 meters tall. Though not original to the architect’s vision, it provides a nice complement to the now two buildings.

The Turibus Polanco Circuit stops just north of the building, on the westbound side of the Avenida Masaryk. The bus departs the Carajillo Restaurant stop to proceed down nearly the rest of the avenue. Seguros Monterrey is very much a landmark at the very beginning of this important Polanco commercial thoroughfare.