Why Rathlin Island?
Northern Ireland’s only inhabited offshore island, Rathlin is a place shaped by weather, story, memory and strong interdependence between people and landscape.
Several locations across urban, rural and coastal Northern Ireland were considered during the early development of the project. Yet the more ideas evolved, the more Rathlin emerged as a natural focus. For such a small island, it has a remarkable pull.
That journey was enabled by two key people: Dr Jessica Bates, a Rathlin Island resident and member of the team, and Dr David Tosh, Operations Manager for the LIFE Raft project, an EU-funded programme focused on the removal of invasive predators from the island.
Both spoke highly of the community, its resilience and its long-term vision. Through introductions to the Rathlin Development & Community Association (RDCA) and conversations with island residents, we began to understand more about the challenges the island faces, as well as the many actions and initiatives already underway.
Learning From Place
Life on any island brings particular challenges around transport, resources, housing and economic resilience. It also requires ongoing negotiation between people, infrastructure, environment and community. On Rathlin, these relationships are immediate and visible within everyday life, creating a strong connection between local knowledge, place and decision-making.
The community has long-established policy and action plans developed in collaboration with regional government, alongside several strategic visions for the island’s future. Residents and organisations work collaboratively across sectors and have developed strong co-design approaches through methods such as appreciative inquiry and the use of visual minutes.
Designing With
Future Island-Island began with a simple question: What can design do for Rathlin? Over time, that question evolved into something more reciprocal: What can design do and learn?
Working in partnership with RDCA, the project has grown through dialogue with island residents, community groups and organisations already actively shaping Rathlin’s future. The island is both collaborator and teacher: a place where curiosity, creative practice, research and lived experience come together to reimagine ways of living, making and connecting.
The questions emerging from this relationship resonate far beyond the island itself, connecting with wider coastal, rural and island communities navigating environmental, social and economic transition.
Rathlin is a deeply knowledgeable community with significant experience in sustainability, resilience, adaptation, culture, heritage and energy. We are privileged to work alongside the community as collaborators in its green transition, and to continue learning through that relationship.