Nah, the visual differentiation between the tower and the podium is a good thing - particularly in scenarios like this where they can make the tower look like it meets the ground rather than perched on top of a box. Cladding everything in uniform material creates a weird amorphous blob that isn't exactly appealing. It also creates more monotony at the street level when whole blocks are filled with unchanged aesthetic. That said, the choice of materials here is certainly questionable.
As they progress, I am somewhat coming around to it. It isn't nearly the disaster it has been made out to be. The pedestrian experience on Halsted is looking up now that some of the construction barriers have been removed.
