Born as Ileana Tureanu in 1952, Murgescu Tureanu studied architecture at the Ion Minchu Institute of Architecture, graduating in 1976. After working at Judetean Dambovita design institute (where she designed the industrial hostel in Titu) for two years, she moved to the Carpathian Design Institute in 1977, remaining there until 1990. During this period, she worked on the project of lake-side hotels in Bucharest in the team of Anca Borgovan (1982-1984) and on the National Oncological Center Fundeni in the team of Silvia Măldărescu (1982-1985, with Gheorghe Pătrașcu und Nicolae Grama). Among her own projects at this time were Motru city hall (1982-1984; unrealized). The project of the National Oncological Center Fundeni was awarded the Prize of the Union of Romanian Architects (UAR) in 1988.

Between 1980 and 1982, she worked as an assistant at the chair for the History and Theory of Architecture at the Ion Minchu Institute of Architecture. She began collaborating with the Arhitectura journal shortly prior to her graduation, continuing writing for the journal until 1990. In 1990, she acted as a co-founder of the journal Arhitext.

In 1985-1989, Murgescu Tureanu was a member of the executive committee of the Union of Romanian Architects.

In the early 1990s, Murgescu Tureanu worked as the general director of the World Trade Center Bucharest, and received a post-professional degree from the World Trade Institute in New York in 1993. Upon returning to Romania, she became the director of the national architectural competition “Bucharest 2000.”