About Us
Armstrong Planning is an Irish planning and development consultancy combining town planning, architectural design and conservation expertise. Through our in-house design studio, Vico Group, we help clients understand development potential, reduce planning risk and bring stronger projects through the planning system.
We work front-to-back
Since opening our doors in 2015, Armstrong Planning has built a reputation for commercially astute planning, design and development advice across Ireland.
Our approach is simple: site constraints, planning history and policy context should shape design from the outset. This reduces planning risk and leads to clearer judgement, stronger applications and a better-planned route to permission.
Every project begins with analysis: site appraisal, survey evidence, heritage assessment, policy review and precedent. Only then do we devise the planning strategy. Only then does the design pencil hit the page.
Throughout, we offer honest counsel. We do not tell clients what they want to hear, and we do not support poorly conceived proposals.
Vico Group
Vico Group is the multidisciplinary design studio within Armstrong Planning. It brings architectural design, conservation expertise and visualisation capability together with our planning work, so strategy and design are developed in close coordination from the outset.
For clients, that means faster iteration, fewer handoffs, and a design response shaped by the planning case from day one.
In Practice
We advise developers, landowners, investors, public bodies and private clients across a wide range of project types and scales.
Our work includes site feasibility, planning strategy, architectural design, conservation advice, planning applications, appeals, observations and development appraisals.
We work across residential, retail, mixed-use, commercial, healthcare, tourism, industrial and heritage projects, with particular depth in retail planning, including capacity modelling, trade-draw analysis and impact assessment.
We take on major development projects, but also advise homeowners and smaller clients who need clear, professional planning advice at an early stage.
Our team
David founded Armstrong Planning in 2015. He holds a BA in History from Trinity College Dublin and a Master's in Regional and Urban Planning from University College Dublin. He is a member of the Irish Planning Institute and the Royal Town Planning Institute.
David has extensive experience in strategic planning, retail planning, development appraisal and the coordination of multidisciplinary project teams. Before establishing Armstrong Planning, he held senior roles in major UK planning consultancies, advising on retail, residential, commercial and mixed-use projects.
He has particular expertise in retail planning, including capacity analysis, trade-draw modelling and retail impact assessment. He has also advised on complex development strategies across residential, retail, commercial, healthcare, tourism and industrial sectors. David remains closely involved in the firm's project work, guiding project strategy, business development and key client relationships. He provides senior commercial and planning judgement across planning applications, appeals, observations, site-feasibility reviews and development strategy.
Joe joins Armstrong Planning as Lead Architect in May 2026. A registered architect and member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, he leads the firm's architectural design work through Vico Group, our in-house design studio.
Joe brings extensive experience across residential, commercial, mixed-use, educational, hospitality and historic-building projects. He has worked at Associate and senior project architect level with leading Irish architectural practices, including O'Mahony Pike Architects, John Duffy Design Group, ARC Architectural Consultants and Paul Keogh Architects.
His recent work includes major residential and mixed-use schemes, including Holy Cross College, Clonliffe Road, East Road, Hollystown Local Centre, Ard na Glais, Clancy Quay and other large-scale urban projects. He has particular strength in concept design, technical coordination, planning-stage design, BIM, visualisation, building surveying and the detailed recording of historic structures.
Joe's work combines design judgement, technical rigour and practical delivery experience. He brings senior architectural input to feasibility studies, planning applications, design coordination, heritage-sensitive projects and the development of coherent, buildable schemes.
Amy is dual-qualified as a Barrister-at-Law of The Honourable Society of King's Inns and as a planner. This gives her a rare ability to consider the legal framework and planning strategy of a case in parallel.
She holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from University College Dublin and a Master of Science in Spatial Planning from Technological University Dublin. She previously served as Vice President of the Irish Planning Institute, and as Honorary Secretary and member of its Policy and Research Committee.
Before joining Armstrong Planning, Amy spent more than two decades with ARC Architectural Consultants (RIAI Grade I Conservation), latterly as a Director. She also chaired the Architectural, Conservation & Planning Committee of the Irish Georgian Society for six years.
Amy has particular expertise in historic built environments, protected structures, townscape and visual impact, and sunlight and daylight assessment. She brings a practical, legally informed and solutions-focused approach to complex planning challenges.
Sunni is an historic buildings consultant and interior designer with specialist expertise in architectural conservation, historic interiors and sensitive adaptation.
She has over 14 years' experience on residential, commercial and ecclesiastical projects in Ireland and the United States, most recently with Grade I conservation practices MESH Architects and Fitzgerald Kavanagh & Partners.
Her work includes Architectural Heritage Impact Assessments, conservation reports, photographic surveys, conservation design and advice on protected structures and period buildings – combining conservation rigour with design judgement to support thoughtful, technically sound interventions in historic buildings.
Sunni serves on the Irish Georgian Society Architectural Conservation & Planning Committee, the Heritage Contractors Registration Board and the Victorian Society in America, and is a survey editor for the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Priyanka works across the firm's planning and design output, combining architectural training with urban design and planning expertise.
She holds a five-year Bachelor of Architecture from India and a Master's in Urban Design and Planning from University College Dublin. Her work includes 3D visualisations, design graphics, architectural drawings and geographic analysis, supporting both the planning case and the design response.
She is proficient in AutoCAD, Photoshop, SketchUp and Autodesk Revit. Her dual background in architecture and planning is particularly valuable on heritage, feasibility and design-led applications.
Talk to us about your site.
Tell us where your site is, what you're trying to achieve, or what problem you're trying to solve.
We'll come back with a clear path forward.