Gardendale High School is the largest school in the Jefferson County system. This 296,000 sq ft project includes the main high school structure and a detached Auto Tech Trade Center. The main school structure includes a three-story, concrete-frame classroom building and a two-story assembly wing. The main structure houses 38 classrooms, four computer laboratories, four science laboratories, and a 100-seat lecture hall. An entire wing is devoted to administrative office space.

The assembly wing houses a 1,600+ seat competition gymnasium and a practice gymnasium as well as a 650-seat performing arts auditorium.

The school’s interior corridors are designed to withstand the direct hit of a tornado or other hazardous weather event. Corridor walls are reinforced to handle high-speed winds, and walls are tied in above the structure, creating a tunnel effect. Special sections of the school that lie below grade function as shelter areas.