The plural version would be more correct, but if you use the plural form, you can not use "a" with it. "A" indicates a singular noun and can therefore only be used with singular nouns. So the correct forms would be: a tall building / tall buildings a one-story house / one-story houses. In the context of your sentence, here is how it should be written: "While some might live in tall buildings, others might live in one-story houses."

I guess the plural form should be correct