A temporary cardboard cathedral will become the new place of worship for a displaced Christchurch, New Zealand congregation after a deadly Feb. 2011 earthquake demolished their former church.

"This building will attract people," said Craig Dixon, the cathedral's development manager, on a video explaining the church's construction. "It's going to be a fantastic structure."

The new cardboard cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand opened to the public on Aug. 5. (Facebook)

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake rattled Christchurch in 2011, causing a spire of the downtown Christchurch Cathedral to fall into a public square.

After the disaster, church officials contacted Japanese architect Shigeru Ban — who has made a name for himself using cardboard tubes as construction materials for emergency shelters — to construct a transitional cathedral.

Ban complied and offered his design to church officials free of charge.

On Thursday, his newest cardboard structure will be officially welcomed into the church with a dedication ceremony.

The transitional structure uses cardboard tubes, timber beams, structural steel and concrete.

A total of 98 tubes, measuring up to 20 metres long and weighing 120 kilograms, make up the cathedral's slanted ceiling.

In tribute to the congregation's original home, the new cathedral boasts a triangular stained-glass window incorporating images from the old cathedral's original rose window.

"It is a building which says much about Christchurch's resilience and creativity," said Tim Hunter, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism's chief executive.