Compiled by Kurt Gardella. Last updated on January 2, 2026.

March 2021 (Initial Idea & Team)

The initial Wool Wall idea (a pre-fabricated modular wall system for a new generation of natural buildings in Iceland) was born as part of Ullarthon 2021 - an Icelandic wool-themed idea/invention marathon held online. Ullarthon 2021 was initiated by the Icelandic Textile Center in collaboration with Innovation Center Iceland and funded by the Agricultural Productivity Fund.

Wool Wall is an open source, sustainable building and rural development project initiated by remote projects. An essential aspect of the Wool Wall design is that the modules produce zero construction waste. At the end of the wall’s use as a building element it can be disassembled and all parts can be reused, recycled or composted. The initial modular wall design is inspired by natural building materials that can be sourced in Iceland (raw wool, turf, local lumber, basalt reinforcement mesh) but the wall system can be replicated anywhere in the world using other locally available/sustainable raw materials which fulfill the basic components of the system:

1. local/recycled wood for the wall’s structural frame
2. natural fiber for the wall’s exterior insulation layer
3. earth or turf for the wall’s interior thermal mass layer
4. lengths of grid/mesh/wood to contain the materials inside the structural frame and create a mechanical key for natural plaster layers (interior) and wooden siding (exterior)

Wool Wall Modules can be manufactured in lengths of 3 to 6 meters at all standard wall heights. Production begins with the construction of a structural wooden frame using typical lumber sizes available in Iceland. Next, wool and turf get compressed into the wooden frame openings and are held in place by strips of mesh or wooden slats. The modules are then pre-finished with a clay plaster on both sides before being transported to the building site where they are installed and connected using standard construction practices. Wool Wall Modules can be used for walls, roofs and floors.

The original Ullarthon 2021 Wool Wall team members were:

• Kurt Gardella: a certified natural builder and educator
• Cornelia Theimer Gardella: a visual artist who primarily works with wool as a raw material
• Ben Loescher: a Los Angeles architect active in building code development, and committed to using natural materials in his work
• Richard Saxton: an artist, designer, and educator whose work focuses primarily on rural knowledge and landscape