Architecture awards for JLR engine plant and National Memorial Arboretum's Remembrance Centre

The two are among six buildings to win West Midlands awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects. The JLR plant also picked up a special sustainability award for its 'positive' environmental impact, while the Remembrance Centre was declared the overall Building of the Year.

"Every member of the judging panel was visibly moved by the experience of the building," said a spokesman following the site visit to the Staffordshire memorial.

The six awards, given in recognition of the buildings' architectural interest, were announced at a prestigious ceremony held at the Rofuto Restaurant at Birmingham's Park Regis on Monday night. The event was hosted by TV presenter and property expert Michael Holmes.

Other award winners included the University of Birmingham's Alan Walters Building and the renovation of a former Jewellery Quarter factory into The Compound.

Regional jury chairman Natalia Maximova said: “This year's winning projects prove that a good architecture should allow its user a space and time to absorb and to reflect.

"The selected designs frame our experience of the buildings and spaces rather than dictate it. They highlight the fact that there is no true architecture without a clear vision and a strong concept. Originality remains a highly valued commodity and a source of inspiration for others and therefore should be recognised.

"The winners deliver an architecture with a narrative and a poetry, while also fully responding to the functional needs of the facilities they created. It is a year of quieter and well-mannered design, nevertheless, no less confident and powerful for that reason.”

The RIBA West Midlands Award winners will now be considered for the national awards, which will be announced in June.

The Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Centre, designed by architects Arup Associates, was built on the i54 site, on the border between Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire. The first stage, which has won the award, was completed in November 2014. JLR has gone on to expand the factory to 2 million sq ft, at an estimated cost of £1 billion.

In their report, the award jury said: "How do you make an industrial building which is 'big and functional' also 'big a beautiful'? Surely by remembering that architecture and good design apply not only to great public buildings or bespoke houses but also certainly that there is room for quality design in the ‘prosaic’ too.

"The proposal for the new Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing facilities proves just that.

"The factory building is huge – acres and acres of the light metal-clad solid façade. The design team has paid careful attention to the proportion, reveals and junction details of the façade modules.

"Repeated many times over, this simple and well expressed element of the design has generated a powerful architectural impression.

"Everything about this scheme is well-considered, practical yet aesthetically balanced and works well even at a macro scale. If one is to describe the development in a single word it should probably be 'positive'.

"'Positive' is also a key word when assessing its environmental impact. Sustainable measures applied at this scale become record-breaking achievements: the largest PV installation in UK and almost in the whole of Europe, plus zero operational waste, extensive grey water recycling, day-lit spaces, naturally ventilated offices and a pioneering 'solar cladding' façade system.

"The client's commitment to sustainable agenda is supported by Arup’s ability to provide a fully coordinated design and integrated management system while introducing innovative low energy solutions. A Sustainable Project of the Year Award therefore goes to this scheme."

The £9.9m Remembrance Centre, completed at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire in October last year, was designed by Glenn Howells Architects.

The judges said: "A strong sense of anticipation precedes some projects just because of their very special nature and the Remembrance Centre at the National Memorial Arboretum does not disappoint.

"A well-proportioned, neo-classical façade projects the appropriate level of gravitas associated with a building of such importance.

"The building rises to the challenge of unifying an existing chapel, a former visitor centre and external spaces and gardens. It addresses the Armed Forces Memorial in a powerful way.

"The project leaves an imposing but not intimidating impression. Every member of the judging panel was visibly moved by the experience of the building. It is a great example of a skilful and meaningful architecture and is a worthy winner of a Building of the Year Award."