Villa Tugendhat is rightly Brno's best-known modern building, but if a tour of functionalism begins and ends there, much of the story remains unseen. Interwar Brno was a setting in which new ideas about housing, work, hygiene and the city took shape in villas, cafés, department stores and more ordinary residential buildings.
Villa Stiassni adds another layer by showing a different form of representative modern living. Check opening hours and tour options in advance. Do not attempt several long interiors without a break. After a second detailed tour, attention starts to fade and the houses blur into one another. One main visit in the morning, lunch and a second place in the afternoon works better. Between them, note only a few observations: light, material, layout and the relationship with the garden. Your own attention will help preserve the differences.
An architectural day can be completed by public transport and on foot. The sites are not all beside one another, so divide the route into two areas instead of travelling chaotically back and forth. Check service changes and expect some uphill walking. Comfortable shoes matter, as does an extra layer for interiors with a different temperature. Bring water in summer and protection for a phone or camera in the rain. If you are travelling with someone less interested in architecture, include a park, lunch or another shared point in the plan.
Try drawing one building instead of photographing it. You do not need to know how to draw. An outline, a few windows and a note about where the light enters are enough. Five minutes of focused observation reveals proportions a quick photograph misses. Sketch from a public place, do not block the pavement and respect any prohibition indoors. When taking photographs, capture a material, handle or connection to the garden as well as the whole. A collection of specific observations explains architecture better than twenty identical frontal façades.
Villa Tugendhat will remain the high point of many visits, but its true significance grows when you see it as part of the city. Other villas, schools, cafés and residential buildings nearby answered similar questions in different ways. Leave time after the tour for an ordinary walk and look for modern principles even where there is no information board. Respect privacy and verify facts, but allow yourself a personal view. Functionalism then stops being a textbook chapter and becomes a layer of Brno you can walk through, stay near and rediscover on every visit.