This paper presents a new method for reconstructing geometry and topology of 3D buildings from 2D architectural plans. A complete topological model expresses incidence and adjacency relations between all the elements. It is necessary for both recovering accurately 2D information and constructing a coherent 3D building. Based on an existing topological kernel, several high-level operations have been developped in 2D for creating walls, portals, stairs, etc. Semantic information is associated with all volumes for specifying openings, walls, rooms, stairs, facade, etc. The resulting 2D model is extruded for generating a 3D environment, taking the semantic information into account since doors are not processed as walls for instance. Floors are superimposed using volumes corresponding to upper and lower ceilings linked according to stairways. The resulting models are suitable for various application such as walkthrough, lighting/wave propoagation/thermal simulation.