Her father was a civil engineer and his brother studied architecture in Germany. Under their influence, she decided to pursue her architectural education at the Academy of Fine Arts, the Department of Architecture in 1938. At this time, the architectural education in the Academy of Fine Arts formed under the influence of Sedad Hakkı Eldem (1908-1988), who propagated the nationalist movement in Turkish modernism. Soylemezoglu’s architectural perspective was shaped within this context.

When she earned her degree in 1942, Harika Alpar and Mualla Eyüboğlu were the only two females among all graduates of the academy. With Leman Tomsu, Leyla Baydar and Celile Berk Butka, Harika Alpar was among the early female members of the Union of Turkish Architects, between 1934 and 1942. Following her graduation, she went to Ankara and began to work with Kemali Söylemezoğlu and Paul Bonatz (1877-1956) in the Ministry of Education. At the beginning of her career, she was involved in work concerning girl’s institutes. She worked at the Ministry of Education until her marriage with Kemali Söylemezoğlu in 1944. That year, the young couple returned to Istanbul after Kemali Söylemezoğlu accepted an academic position at the Academy of Fine Arts. Following the birth of their twins in 1945, she collaborated mostly with her husband and participated in several architectural design competitions with him. 

Harika Alpar Söylemezoğlu worked on development plans for Kandırlı, Anamur, and Mut at the Municipal Credit Bank (İller Bank). Between 1955 and 1956, she pursued her professional career at the architectural office established by Hayati Tabanlıoğlu (1927-1994).