<p>Reinforced concrete (RC) structural wall buildings are the most common building type in Iceland. The aim of this study is to verify, calibrate, and gain experience with numerical simulations that can be employed to develop analytical frameworks for assessing the seismic vulnerability of RC buildings. The applied numerical models are based on the MVLEM-3D element and the OpenSees software. This study first analyses static experimental data from laboratory testing of two identical large-scale RC U-shaped walls under pure axial-flexure and pure axial-torsion loading to validate the modelling methodologies. Then dynamic shaking table test data of one RC U-shaped wall under nine intensity levels is analysed. For both data sets, the numerical model simulated the experimental data fairly well. In the last part of the study, a challenge step is undertaken to retroactively assess the observed and reported damage of a four-storey RC wall building affected by the Ölfus Mw6.3 earthquake on 29 May 2008 in southwestern Iceland. This assessment utilizes recorded acceleration time histories to excite a two-dimensional model. The building was located close to the fault rupture with a clear near-fault effect. The model successfully captured key aspects of the wall’s seismic behaviour. However, it underestimated the response of the damage state level when compared to the observations. This suggests that additional test buildings should be analysed to enhance the development of the framework. Furthermore, the numerical model also showed that the building was quite sensitive to the directivity of the ground motion.</p>