Arguably the four most well known films on his resume — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gravity, and Children of Men — are all very technical, and/or effects-driven movies.
That being said, we do know that this movie will have a very strong connection to Alfonso Cuarón himself.
It might not be completely autobiographical, but it will surely come from somewhere very real and raw.
Based upon the basic description of the project, it sounds like Alfonso Cuarón intends to scale back the scope of the drama, at least compared to his recent films.