Four huge cardboard tubes will hit the road in a fundraising initiative for Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral.

The four 16.5m-long cardboard cylinders, identical to those being used for construction of the Transitional Cathedral, will be placed outside the cathedrals in Auckland, Napier, Wellington and Dunedin next week.

Individuals and business representatives are invited to see drawings of the unique structure, receive information, and donate to the project through slots cut in the display tubes.

Each tube is made up of three 5.5m tubes joined exactly as those used in the Transitional Cathedral.

Ninety-eight tubes up to 20m long will be used in the construction of the Transitional Cathedral, due to open in April.

The Transitional Cathedral was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and is due for completion in early April next year. 

Originally estimated to cost around $4m, it's now likely to exceed $5.4m because of material price hikes and extra compliance costs.

Shigeru Ban is world-famous for his work with recycled cardboard tubes to quickly create structures in disaster zones.

His projects include a paper church in Kobe, paper shelters in Haiti, and the L’aquila Temporary Concert Hall in Italy.

Craig Dixon, ChristChurch Cathedral's fundraising and development manager, says the Transitional Cathedral is very much alive and well.

“We’ve had this initiative in the pipeline for some time and it is unrelated to other funding issues that have arisen around the Transitional Cathedral,” he says.

“We're excited to share this unique project which has caught the attention of cities around the world. It's a wonderful build, but we don't underestimate the challenges involved in such an undertaking.

"We hope the journey of the tubes throughout New Zealand will support the construction of this amazing structure.”

You can follow progress of the Transitional Cathedral online at www.cardboardcathedral.org.nz