For general builder Francisco Wheelock and his wife, Myriam Caldera, the move to this fantasy home was a joyful homecoming. After studying civil engineering in Texas, Wheelock returned to his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua, also discovered that an perfect lot with views of the Sierras de Managua. Challenged with a steep incline, Wheelock worked with architect Daniel Hurtado to make a contemporary, open home framed by balconies.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Francisco Wheelock and Myriam Caldera, brothers Adriana (age 3) and Vanessa (1); puppies Dante and Kafka
Location: Santo Domingo neighborhood of Managua, Nicaragua
Size: 5,000 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Louise Lakier
Sculptural forms nestle inside the natural setting.
Wheelock is a fan of Mexican contemporary structure — the job of Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragán had a big impact on the house’s design.
Louise Lakier
Front and back entrances are aligned with trees. Here, a concrete route zigzags next to an avocado tree in the front entry.
Louise Lakier
The entry door pivots, showing lush green views of the Sierras de Managua (Managua Hills) beyond. A rain string and thriving leather leaf palm plants in concrete planters framework the entry.
Louise Lakier
The exposed roof beams inside are all created from Pochote, a local hardwood. Wheelock wrapped exposed beams in banana leaf rope for a pretty detail.
Louise Lakier
A string of custom cabinetry lamps out of Catarina — a neighboring city famous for the crafts — casts shadows on the walls and clerestory windows. Wheelock originally looked at paper lanterns before inventing a stronger design made from bent cane.
Wheelock also made the cherrywood table.
Photo by Ana Laura Contreras
Louise Lakier
The spacious living room gains visual area with wall-to-wall folding doors, custom made from Spanish cedar. The door system on both sides of the living room slides onto a monitor designed to carry a load of 3,000 lbs.
Louise Lakier
The living spaces stretch on a large reinforced concrete balcony, scored to reduce cracking. A sliver of glass expresses the transition from indoors to outside and filters light to the hallway below the balcony. The design helps combat the weather of Managua. “Our home sits 1,500 feet above sea level, about 1,200 feet higher than many of Managua,” Wheelock states. “The 80-degree average temperature in our neighborhood versus the 95-degree Managua average really makes a difference”
Louise Lakier
Wheelock designed this table utilizing a hollowed-out stump located close to the home. Wheelock is thinking of incorporating an outdoor kitchen and a barbecue area to the balcony, too.
Louise Lakier
You may see the terraced garden layout. “The biggest challenge was the steepness of the lot and the great thing about the present trees,” Wheelock states. “It required a great deal of effort to come up with a layout that was able to work in such constrained floor, especially while doing minimal earthwork, attempting to carry on the trees that were there.”
Louise Lakier
Cascading concrete measures transition to the terraced backyard. The two wings of the home frame a thoughtfully placed view of an Aceituno tree.
Louise Lakier
The main staircase back leads to the bedrooms and kitchen. The light fixture has been designed by Wheelock and tradition produced by Art Metal in León, Nicaragua.
The leather art belonged to Wheelock’s late grandma. “She purchased it at a Mexico marketplace in the ’90s and had it framed. It’s most likely one of the very few art pieces in the home with significant sentimental value,” he states.
Louise Lakier
The Spanish cedar and stainless steel stairs was designed to be open to the light. The floor-to-floor height here is 16 feet.
Louise Lakier
The stairs lead down to this family room and playroom beside the girls’ rooms. The rooms share a balcony for outdoor access, along with the few young daughters really like to draw on the concrete with vibrant chalk.
Louise Lakier
A balcony connects the girls’ bedrooms.
Louise Lakier
Each bedroom also has a habit built in nature-inspired mural, also since each has its own bathroom, one can double as a guest room.
Louise Lakier
In the master bedroom, Wheelock designed all the furniture and built-ins. “My latest splurge is a 55-inch-screen TV,” he states.
Pendants: TechnoLite, Nicaragua
Louise Lakier
The bathroom sits next to a linear courtyard area, full of river stone and vines.
Louise Lakier
The windows over the bathtub slide open, offering unobstructed views. “As a builder, I thoroughly loved shopping for flooring, the slate that went into the granite and bathrooms,” says Wheelock.
Louise Lakier
The kitchen is adjacent to the laundry room. Slate flooring tile and natural timber chimney tie the kitchen in to the rest of the home.
Cabinets: Interiors, Nicaragua
Louise Lakier
Wheelock works in his home office at night. “We really like a contemporary, straightforward design that allows the architecture talk for itself,” he states.
Louise Lakier
“Our favourite room in the home is the spacious deck,” Wheelock states. “With it being so close to the treetops, it almost feels as though you’re in a tree house”
Louise Lakier
“My home is my family’s sanctuary,” says Wheelock, sitting with his wife and brothers.