Malene Bjørn (1914–2016) was a Danish designer and architect whose single most visible work stands not in Denmark but on a spit of reclaimed land in Kuwait City. She was married to the Swedish architect Sune Lindström, chief architect of the engineering firm VBB, which was building Kuwait's post-oil water supply; Lindström had already put up five groups of his characteristic mushroom-headed water towers when the Emir asked for something more memorable at the sixth site. Bjørn produced ten schemes, three went to the ruler, and the chosen design became the Kuwait Towers, completed in 1976. Her contribution is often folded into VBB's corporate credit, and recovering it matters: she is one of very few women with a securely attributed landmark anywhere in the Gulf.
