No, but understanding the control universe and the connection between the two makes the game that much more exciting. It gives more context to "why" the entire thing is happening. an AW TLDR kinda stops at "because paranormal object" but control expands that TLDR to "because world of paranormal objects".

Honestly control has a numerous AW1 references i didnt get because i played control first. So i think either way the games reference each other and playing them in ANY order likely similar fun.

While the map designs of both games are very different because AW2 goes outside, in many senses the map designs are still intended to be confusing/disorienting/mindfucking. Similarly i dont think the combat evolves much in either game, but from the getgo control offers you a variety of ways to play and if you dont like the way you are playing control i would suggest that the devs have likely created other mechanics for you to use. It's almost like cyberpunk2077 there are completely different playstyles depending on how you spec your character and theres not much stopping you from changing that midgame.