Timber beams are to feature in a cathedral to temporarily replace the one damaged in the earthquake in the New Zealand city of Christchurch last year.

The 25m-high building, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, will be made mostly out of cardboard tubes but it will also incorporate timber beams and structural steel.

It will be weather and fireproof and is projected to last for at least 20 years.

The Transitional Cathedral will be built about 300m from the original Victorian structure which will be demolished after being badly damaged by the 6.3-magnitude quake in February last year.