Communitatem seeks to reinforce the ideals of community and work ethic that make up Homeboy Industries through the use of large, open, unified, planar spaces. This is achieved by lifting the living program up from the ground plane, allowing for an open air covered base of operations where park maintenance and gardening practices take place. Maintenance paths allow for easy access around Barnesdale Park. Living quarters are shared among all Homeboys, meaning a communal mode of living. Residents take up local responsibilities such as cooking or laundry duty depending on what sector of the Communitatem they occupy.

In an effort to preserve the intrinsic value of the site as a buffer zone between the cityscape and park, it was recognized that any intervention upon the site would ultimately become an intrusion of the city upon the artificial natural landscape. In an effort to limit damages upon the buffer space, the project aims to integrate itself within the existing city infrastructure of the site and set itself as far away from the park as is possible (that is, as close to the street as possible).