K9 is a consensus-oriented, politically left housing project, with an open living concept and a high proportion of public space for community work, political education and networking.

The buildings date back to 1890. Having survived the war, they were protected from demolition in the following decades, but not renovated. Following the opening of the Berlin Wall the buildings were squatted, and after some wild years of parties, demonstrations and fights it was finally possible for the residents to gain the ownership of their buildings. The Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft Selbstbau e.G., a housing cooperative, was given the ownership and the residents signed a long-term lease agreement with this cooperative.

K9 is a self-managed project. All building residents participate in decision making about the concerns of the house and the use of public spaces during joint plenary sessions.

K9 was financed through support from the local housing authority, private loans, significant personal contributions and smaller credits. The community facilities are financed by a distribution of costs between the flats and included in the total cost of the project.

The housing project has it roots in the wild squatting years of the early 1990s, since that time being a self-organized and self-managed project.

The careful renovation of the older buildings means that they have been saved for the next generations.

The participatory renovation of the apartments was carried out with financial support from Land Berlin designed to assist self-help housing projects. The buildings will be preserved as affordable housing through the non-profit structures of the residents in cooperation with the housing cooperative which legally owns the buildigns.