I'm curious which buildings you're talking about.

Some ancient buildings use really thick walls with high heat absorption to balance the temperature throughout the day.
In hot climates, if there is abundant salt water, another option is a windcatcher.
It gets more difficult if the outside is consistently cold, although in theory if the insulation is good enough body heat alone could work.

Also in northern Europe I think some buildings use geothermal. Or even heat batteries, where they collect heat in summer and then use it in winter.
I don't know at what scale that is being done.