During Silveira's time as the Project Department lead, she was faced with creating an improved solution for Brazil's new public telephones. Prior to this, few Brazilian households could afford to own a telephone and majority of the population took phone calls on telephones placed in local business, such as bars and bakeries. However, the introduction of public telephones in Brazilian cities caused a number of issues to arise. Initially, these telephones were encased in cylindrical cabins, which were frequently vandalized, expensive to make and maintain, and took up too much of the already limited sidewalk space. Further, there was the typical challenge with public telephones in urban spaces: being able to be heard by and hear the other person on the line. Ultimately, Silveira was tasked with creating an inexpensive, damage and weather resistant, visually pleasing, and functional solution. With the preceding pain points in mind and inspired by
Arne Jacobsens "
Egg Chair," Silveira designed Chu I and Chu II: the functional and aesthetic egg-shaped public telephone booths. Chu I, or more commonly referred to as the Orelhinha ("little ear"), was made of orange acrylic and was installed in smaller, indoor spaces, such as shops or public offices. On the other hand, Chu II, or more affectionately known as Orelhão ("big ear"), was made of orange and blue fiber glass to resist outdoor weather conditions and extreme temperatures. Both were fixed on small posts. Some were transparent to visually expand the space. Visually, Silveira's design closely resembled the organic shape of an egg, encasing both the telephone at its center and the user, allowing for optimal acoustics and privacy. With this design, Silveira successfully created an inexpensive solution that minimized the sidewalk space occupied by phone booths and withstood external damage, while still reducing external noise and optimizing the sound quality for users. Her clever design also visually fit with the urban spaces. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo installed their first booths in January 1971 and they quickly became popular. Soon enough, thousands of Orelhões were rolled out across Brazil. Citizens quickly developed nicknames for the egg-shaped booth, including "tulip" and "astronaut helmet." In March 1972, the Brazilian Telephonic Company saw a 12 percent increase in the average daily number of phone calls made on public phones are the implementation of the Orelhões. ==Legacy==